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Eric.ed.gov – To Track or Not to Track?

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Background: This paper was written for a graduate level action research course at Muskingum University, located in New Concord, OH. Purpose: The purpose of this research was to determine which method of instruction best serves ALL high school students. Is it more advantageous to track (“ability group”) students or not to track students in high school core classes (Math, Science, History, and English)? Setting: This study was conducted during the 2009-2010 school year. All subjects involved in this research are associated with Caldwell High School, located in Caldwell, OH. Caldwell is a small rural town located in Southeastern Ohio, which is part of the Appalachian region. The high school currently has approximately 180 students in attendance and 11 educators teaching the four core subject areas. Study Sample:… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Community and Place in Mathematics Instruction in Selected Rural Schools

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The teaching of mathematics, which arguably is so abstract as to transcend place and community and even culture (according at least to a Platonic view of mathematics), will seem to some observers particularly ill-suited to instruction in place- or community- or culture-based approaches. Nevertheless, current thinking in mathematics education, with its emphasis on the construction of meaning and the application of problem solving to “real-world” situations, might logically be interpreted as supporting these varied approaches to instruction. Because both rural education and math education scholars collaborated in conducting this study, the project did indeed have its eye as much on the “community purposes of mathematics instruction” as on the “mathematical purposes of community engagement”. The related complexities are legion–and, the authors find, them interesting. This report begins… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Evaluation of Flexibility Under “No Child Left Behind”: Volume III–The Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP Flex)

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This study focuses on flexibility provisions in the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) provision of NCLB. Specifically, it addresses REAP Flex, a program that allows rural districts additional control over how to spend portions of their federal funding. REAP Flex is part of a series of NCLB flexibility initiatives aimed at rural schools. The four primary findings of this study were: (1) Half of eligible districts participated in the REAP Flex program; (2) REAP Flex authority was most often used to provide additional funds for services under Title I, Part A. Districts also commonly used REAP Flex to focus on programs related to Title V, Part A (State Grants for Innovative Programs), and Title II, Part D (Educational Technology State Grants). The program funds most commonly used… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Using VoiceThread for Communication in Mathematics Writing

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: ‘This action research study was conducted on a fourth grade rural classroom in Orange County, N.Y. for the purpose of determining if the use of the VoiceThread program will affect student performance in mathematics writing. A baseline of student performance on this measure was administered in the fall of 2010 using the NYS Holistic rubric of a 3 point total value as provided from the NYS 2009 4th grade Math Test. Four questions on varying topics were pulled from the same test as the rubric mentioned here. In addition, a graphic organizer was utilized to support organization of student thoughts on the problem. A survey was administered to the students at the end of this study which demonstrated positive attitudes towards the use of graphic organizers and… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Rural School-Community Partnerships: The Case of Science Education

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The U.S. Department of Education (USDOE, 2004) administers a formula grant program to states that is intended to increase the academic achievement of students in mathematics and science by enhancing the content knowledge and teaching skills of classroom teachers. Partnerships between high-need school districts and the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculty in institutions of higher education are at the core of these improvement efforts. These programs articulate the President’s priority of using partnering to close the achievement gap in math and science between majority and minority and/or disadvantaged students in order to keep the U.S. competitive in international markets. However, in rural communities, the infrastructure for developing these partnerships (i.e., nearby institutions of higher education, stable economic base, human resources) is often not available. In… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – A First Look at the 5Essentials in Illinois Schools. Research Report

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In the first comprehensive analysis of Illinois’ statewide survey of school climate and learning conditions, this report finds systematic differences among schools in the degree to which students and teachers report strength in the five essential supports. Previous University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research (UChicago CCSR) research has linked strength on the five essentials–effective leadership, collaborative teachers, involved families, supportive environments, and ambitious instruction–to engaging instruction and learning and ultimately to improvements in test score gains and attendance trends. This report analyzes data from the 2013 survey administered by the Illinois State Board of Education and the University of Chicago Urban Education Institute to all teachers and students in grades six through 12. The goal of the survey was to help schools across the state… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Hydroponic Garden Promotes Hands-on Learning, Healthy Eating

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The Carl D. Perkins Career Technical Improvement Act of 2006 encourages integration of academic instruction to improve student learning, impact employment skills of students, and enhance problem-solving skills by using authentic real-world situations. Academic integration is accomplished by integrating concepts of English, math, science, technology, etc., into career and technical education (CTE) course content, or by two teachers from different content areas collaborating to align and team-teach course standards. This article describes a project that provided an opportunity for educators in Greenhouse Management, Nutrition and Foods, and Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) to align course standards and curriculum while collaborating on plans to address the problem of obesity in the local school and community. With the help of a hydroponic garden, university researchers collaborated with CTE teachers… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Idaho Rural Education Task Force. Public School Information. Legislative Report, 2008

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The Idaho Rural Education Task Force was formed in July 2007 with the goal of proposing and examining solutions to challenges facing rural schools. The task force’s work this year has focused on three areas: recruitment and retention of highly qualified teachers, funding shortages related to insurance costs and staff allowances, and the technology gap between rural and urban schools. Rural districts are challenged to find enough teachers to meet their needs, and often the qualified applicant pool for open positions is very small or non-existent. The situation is becoming more critical due to the increased math and science graduation standards recently adopted by the State of Idaho, elevating need for teachers. To assist districts in retaining teachers and to maximize the use of the current teacher… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Baseline Report for the Mixed-Methods Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial of Impact Network’s eSchool 360 Model in Rural Zambia. Making Research Relevant

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Low- and middle-income countries have made significant progress getting children into school, but student learning and achievement are often dreadfully low (Berry, Barnett, & Hinton, 2015; Pritchett, 2013). Approximately 250 million children across the world are not acquiring basic reading and math skills, even though about half have spent at least 4 years in school (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation, 2014). Zambia faces many common educational challenges. Literacy rates among young Zambian adults ages 15–24 are 58.5% for females and 70.3% for males, despite an average of 7.7 years and 7.9 years of education, respectively (Zambia Demographic and Health Surveys, 2013–14; UNICEF, 2015). Community schools in Zambia are in need of a cost-effective solution for delivering quality education in order to improve learning outcomes. The… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – A Snapshot of Educator Mobility in Montana: Understanding Issues of Educator Shortages and Turnover

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This study was conducted at the request of education policymakers who participate in the Montana Rural Recruitment and Retention Task Force. Like many states, Montana is struggling to recruit and retain qualified educators, especially in certain subject areas and in more rural parts of the state. The purpose of this study is to provide information that will help the task force address these challenges. Task force members asked REL Northwest to examine the following questions: (1) What is the extent of educator shortages in the state in 2017/18? How do educator shortage patterns vary by characteristics of school systems?; (2) To what extent did educators stay in their position and school system, move to a different position within the school system, move to a different school system,… Continue Reading