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Eric.ed.gov – Critical Consciousness and Schooling: The Impact of the Community as a Classroom Program on Academic Indicators

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The present study investigates the extent to which a program guided by the principles of critical pedagogy, which seeks to develop “critical consciousness,” is associated with the improved academic performance of students attending a low-performance middle-school in Buffalo, New York. The students were enrolled in an in-school academic support program called the “Community as Classroom”, which used critical project-based learning to show students how to improve neighborhood conditions. The study found that the Community as Classroom program bolstered student engagement as reflected in improved attendance, on-time-arrival at school, and reduced suspensions. Although class grades did not improve, standardized scores, particularly in Math and Science, dramatically improved for these students from the lowest scoring categories. We suspect that given increased student engagement and dramatically improved standardized test scores,… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Decimals and Percents. Math in Action. Workbook.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This workbook is designed as an easy-to-read, slower-paced mathematics text for students who have learning, reading, and language problems. Helping students fulfill mathematics requirements for graduation is a goal; the book can be used as the core or supplement to the mathematics curriculum in mainstreamed or special education classrooms, in mathematics laboratories, or as part of sheltered workshop and vocational training programs. Basic concepts and skills about decimals and percents, including computation with decimals and using proportions to solve percent problems, are presented. All 10 units begin with a brief discussion of how decimals or percents are used in real life and list a few key words. Lessons teach only one major concept per page. A comprehension exercise ends each lesson, usually with answers given on the… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Simple Fractions. Math in Action. Workbook.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This workbook is designed as an easy-to-read, slower-paced mathematics text for students who have learning, reading, and language problems. Helping students fulfill mathematics requirements for graduation is a goal; the book can be used as the core or supplement to the mathematics curriculum in mainstreamed or special education classrooms, in mathematics laboratories, or as part of sheltered workshop and vocational training programs. The eight units begin with a brief discussion of how fractions are used in real life. Each lesson focuses on only one major concept, and includes comprehension exercises with an answer key. Most lessons are reinforced with at least one worksheet, available in the teacher’s guide. The units are titled: Fractions All Around You, Naming Fractions, Different Names for the Same Amount, Renaming Fractions, Comparing… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Take Your Time: Why States Should Use Education Waivers to Increase Learning Time

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Last week President Barack Obama announced that the administration plans to waive some aspects of the No Child Left Behind law. But states have to develop solid plans to improve instruction to receive a waiver. Specifically, states must adopt college- and career-ready standards for all students, focus interventions on the bottom 15 percent of low-performing schools, and develop teacher evaluation systems using student performance. Commentators are fixated on waiving the high-profile pieces of the law such as the timeline for ensuring all students are proficient in reading and math and seeking flexibility for the highly qualified teacher targets. But a critical waiver option on expanded learning time is being overlooked in all the hoopla. Expanded learning time is a valuable tool for improving student achievement, as demonstrated… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Effectiveness of Applying Conceptual Change Approaches in Challenging Mathematics Tasks for Low-Performing Students

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This article reports on the effectiveness of an intervention using conceptual change approaches within challenging tasks, on the mathematics gains for low-performing year 3-6 students in in six primary schools. Quantitative data from PAT-Maths testing for each year showed a consistently large effect size of 0.7 compared to expected gain data from DECD [South Australia’s Department for Education and Child Development]. All six experimental groups caught up with DECD expectations within one year. Over the two years, students from years 3-5 gained an additional 27 months of mathematics learning over the expectations and students from years 4-6 gained 29 months, indicating the potential of the approach for closing educational gaps for low-performing students. Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – The Perceptions of Primary Grade Teachers and Elementary Principals about the Effectiveness of Grade-Level Retention

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The purpose of this study was to ascertain the attitudes of primary grade teachers and elementary principals about grade retention. Because grade retention is typically initiated in the primary grades, it is important to understand educators’ beliefs about it as a viable option for low-performing students. A paper survey was sent to teachers and principals in one school district, inviting them to provide their perceptions about the reasons for grade retention, the most appropriate time to retain students, and the effectiveness of interventions in deterring the use of grade retention. Overall, teachers and principals believed students should be retained because of academic performance and perceived parental involvement as the most promising intervention to deter the use of grade retention. Teachers agreed significantly more than principals that retention… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – School Turnaround in North Carolina: A Regression Discontinuity Analysis. Working Paper 156

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This paper examines the effect of school turnaround in North Carolina elementary and middle schools. Using a regression discontinuity design, we find that turnaround led to a drop in average school-level math and reading passing rates and an increased concentration of low-income students in treated schools. We use teacher survey data to examine how teacher activities changed. Treated schools brought in new principals and increased the time teachers devoted to professional development. The program also increased administrative burdens and distracted teachers, potentially reducing time available for instruction. Teacher turnover increased after the first full year of implementation. Overall, we find little success for North Carolina’s efforts to turn around low performing schools under its federally funded Race to the Top grant. Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – Central Tensions: A Critical Framework for Examining High School Mathematics and Mathematics Education.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: High school mathematics (beginning with algebra) is widely regarded as the “gatekeeper” to college. It is also the subject students in U.S. public schools fail most often. As the standards movement gains momentum, students who are members of subordinated populations continue to perform worse on standardized measures of mathematical skill than do their mainstream peers. Fundamentally linked to these problems is the nature of mathematics education and the popular notion of “mathematics” as a discipline. Mathematics education research has never viewed equity as a central concern, the “objective” nature of mathematics in general has never called for examination of the complex political, economic, and ideological forces that shape the terrain of mathematics education in public schools. This study uses a variety of statistical and ethnographic techniques to… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Transfer Incentives for High-Performing Teachers: Final Results from a Multisite Randomized Experiment. NCEE 2014-4003

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: One way to improve struggling schools’ access to effective teachers is to use selective transfer incentives. Such incentives offer bonuses for the highest-performing teachers to move into schools serving the most disadvantaged students. In this report, we provide evidence from a randomized experiment that tested whether such a policy intervention can improve student test scores and other outcomes in low-achieving schools. The intervention, known to participants as the Talent Transfer Initiative (TTI), was implemented in 10 school districts in seven states. The highest-performing teachers in each district–those who ranked in roughly the top 20 percent within their subject and grade span in terms of raising student achievement year after year (an approach known as value added)–were identified. These teachers were offered $20,000, paid in installments over a… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – REAL School Gardens Program: Learning Gardens and Teacher Training to Improve Student Engagement and Academic Performance in Low-Performing Elementary Schools

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Children who grow up in poverty are less likely to graduate high school, enter college and find economic stability. REAL School Gardens believes the right educational opportunities — ones that engage and motive children to learn — can break this cycle. The REAL School Gardens Program builds learning gardens and offers teacher training to improve academic engagement and performance in low-income elementary schools. Since its launch, REAL School Gardens has partnered with 92 low-income schools, and preliminary findings show that 84% of students experiencing hands-on academic lessons in a REAL School Garden report high levels of engagement, specifically in math in science. Another study demonstrated that REAL School Gardens’ partner schools exhibit, on average, standardized science test score pass rates 5.5% higher than non-partner schools. This article… Continue Reading