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$Grade 5 Math Instructional Materials 2009 - RPDP$

MEETING THE CHALLENGES OF IMPROVING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN RURAL SCHOOLS by Rick Hardy I hate this title! I hate it because it seems to lend support to the idea that the problems facing educators in rural schools are somehow fundamentally different than the problems found in larger schools. With very few exceptions, the problems are very much the same. The difference is just a difference in scale. If this premise is true, it would follow that the ideas and programs helping students in rural schools could also be adopted or adapted to help students in larger schools. The reverse would also be true. One idea that would benefit students at all schools is the philosophy and attitude of the administrators and staff at many small high schools across the state of Nevada relative to the High School Proficiency Examination Program (HSPE). Many of these schools have formally taken the position that “No Student Fails”. This is not just lip service, but a commitment to do everything possible to help each and every student succeed. Evidence of this commitment is seen not just in additional courses designed to help students who have failed the first round of HSPE prepare for additional rounds, or in before and after school or summertime tutoring programs. It can be seen as counselors and teachers jointly identify specific low areas for individual students and develop specific remedies that address those low areas. When a vocational teacher plans activities that model reading and writing skills and then requires students to use those skills in the context of whatever vocational skills are being taught that week, the commitment becomes real for both the teacher and the student. When a coach schedules a time and a place for math tutoring for his players who have not yet passed the math portion of the HSPE and then checks with his players three times a week to make certain they are attending extra tutoring and getting their homework completed and in on time, students feel the commitment and they begin to believe the philosophy that “No Student Fails”. Regardless of size, a school staff meeting or department meeting that spends 70% of the time talking about solutions to student problems and 30% of the time talking about scheduling events and activities is a great school-wide indicator that priorities are in the proper perspective. Differences in scale can be exemplified by what can happen when a family with several ELL children or with severe special needs children moves into a small rural community. The staff at a small school might go into “full-court panic”. In larger schools, personnel and programs are already in existence and the students are simply placed into the appropriate programs. Progressive small schools also have people and programs, often computer related, identified even if a current need does not exist so that if students with these needs do enroll, their needs can be met immediately. Because of their small size, rural schools and districts often establish networks of people inside and outside of the district who can be called upon to help should a need arise. In larger schools and districts, those networks often exist as district level resources. These resources are usually especially adept at dealing with identified, specific, and familiar needs. In nature and in organizations, it is often found that smaller size can result in quicker response and greater maneuverability. In smaller schools, if a need arises that has never before been experienced, a dedicated staff can quickly develop and implement multiple strategies and responses to meet a need. Larger schools might also be well served by bringing the resources of the immediate staff to bear on a new and unique problem during the time the routine requests for permission and resources are moving up the organizational ladder. As always, the student is best served by an immediate and caring response to his or her need. Large or small, rural or urban, the elements of good teaching and learning unite us all. The more we focus on solutions to the problems surrounding student achievement, the more we realize we all have something to learn and we all have something to share.
“…we live in the Age of InfoWhelm.” -(Ian Jukes) “Beyond this, we live in the Age of InfoWhelm. The amount of information in the world is growing at an exponential rate, which is reinforcing the decreasing importance of memorization, while at the same time increasing the need for a general conceptual awareness of the world.” (Jukes, 2007) Making sense of the infinite amount of the world’s information proves to be the bulk of the battle. Using alternative assessments and test data can help teachers narrow, identify and correct areas of classroom instruction where students are not learning effectively. Actively engaging and including students in the assessment process will increase their understanding, and success, with testing. Pedagogical and methodological shifts must occur to prepare today’s students with new skills for the workforce of the future. The availablilty of vast amounts of data through advances in technology allows the analysis of student assessment to inform classroom instruction in ways never before available. One can sort, classify, rearrange, and redistribute any data at the click of a button. However, there is an information overload problem: InfoWhelm (Jukes, 2007). Educators need to teach students how to direct this amazing amount of information to their advantage. Teachers and students working together can explore and acquire new skills to manage knowledge productively. There are many ways educators can utilize the latest technology and access to data in order to improve and enrich classroom instruction and increase student achievement. Teachers have the ability to analyze test data from data collection software programs, like Clark County School District’s Instructional Data Management System (IDMS) to identify deficiencies in instruction and assessment. Questions the entire class missed are vital to examine for a lack of content instruction in that area or poor construction of the test question itself. Looking at specific student scores will help teachers to identify individual limitations. Teachers who endorse multiple learning styles will make opportunities for success available to students in a variety of ways. Allowing students to create and submit alternative assessments addresses the multiple learning styles of students, while illuminating key areas of low student achievement. Project and scenario-based learning combines content objectives with the application of new and varied skills. Blended learning projects encompass the physical and technological limitations of the real-world learning environment with what is possible using technology. These types of alternative assessments teach students to use higher order thinking skills (HOTS) and the more advanced cognitive levels of analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and creation (Bloom’s Taxonomy, 2001). In addition to training teachers to data mine and apply results effectively, it is necessary to teach students indispensable selfassessment skills. It is essential for students to be active partners in the learning process. Additionally, it is imperative for educators to instruct students to identify their own learning strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles. “The ability to take data - to be able to understand it, process it, to extract value from it, to communicate it-that’s going to be a hugely important skill for the next decades, not only at the professional level but even at the educational level for elementary school kids, for high school, for college kids.” (Varian, 2009) A key strategy is to teach students to manipulate statistics (act as statisticians) to make sense of the data and information. Teaching the students how to effectively sort through large amounts of highly available and accessible information, how to sift and authenticate information, and recognize copyright infringement, brings the power of assessment into the hands
Page 1 and 2: Shop TALK Vol. 4 No. 3 Getting Stud
Page 3 and 4: Listen and Learn by Sue DeFrancesco
Page 5: Administrator Highlights Kenneth Wr
Page 9 and 10: Beatty Elementary School Rural Tech
Page 11 and 12: Locally, I have used the digital vi
Page 13 and 14: “We want to be thermostats, not t
Page 15 and 16: What Students Need to Know and Do W
Page 17 and 18: what they have written to the expec
Page 19 and 20: More Than Just Multiple Choice! by
Page 21 and 22: Technology’s Influence on Formati
Page 23 and 24: Formative Assessment in Elementary
Page 25 and 26: Getting Students to Think Scientifi
Page 27: Professional Development Secondary

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