Chapter 10 Notes PDF

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Chapter 10 Notes...

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Schools-Chapter 10  Direct Instruction and Constructivist Approaches  Constructivist approach: a learner-centered approach that emphasizes the importance of individuals actively constructing their knowledge and understanding with guidance from the teacher.   Direct instruction approach: a teacher-centered approach that is characterized by teacher direction and control, mastery of academic skills, high expectations for students and maximum time spent on learning tasks. o Critics argue this approach turns students into passive learners  However, the two approaches can be combined as well  Accountability  How effective are schools? o State-mandated tests have taken on a more powerful role o No Child Left Behind (NCLB)  Federal legislation  Signed into law in 2002  Holds schools and school districts accountable for the success or failure of their students  Shifted responsibility to individual states- each state had to create standards for achievement in math, English, science, etc.  Advocates of NCLB argues that there are benefits to standardized testing  2009—the Common Core Standards Initiative was endorsed by the National Governors Association in an effort to implement more rigorous state guidelines for educating students 

 Criticisms of Standardized Testing o  Single score as the sole indicator of students’ progress and competence o  Tests don’t measure other important skills o May negatively impact teaching o State by state variations   Each state is allowed to have different criteria for what constitutes passing or failing grades on tests designated for NCLB inclusion

 Transition to Middle or Junior High School   Transition to middle school or junior high from elementary school is a normative experience for nearly all children, but can be stressful as it occurs with other changes (e.g., puberty)   Students transitioning from elementary to middle or junior high school often experience the top-dog phenomenon o Top-dog phenomenon: the circumstance of moving from the top position (in elementary school, the oldest, biggest, and most powerful students in the school) to the lowest position (in middle or junior high school, the youngest, smallest, and least powerful students in the school).   Potential for positive experiences as well  Improving Middle Schools   Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development issued a very negative report of US middle schools (Turning Points, 1989)

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 The Carnegie report recommended: o  Developing smaller “communities” o  Lowering student-to-counselor ratios o  Involving parents and community leaders o  Develop better curricula o  Team-teach in flexible blocks, integrating several disciplines o  Boost students’ health and fitness

 The American High School  Many high school graduates are poorly prepared for college and the workplace o  There has also been concern expressed regarding the negative social aspects of middle and high schools  If adolescents are too worried about fitting in our navigating peer relationships, they may not value academic achievement  Would online schools help to lessen any impact/likelihood of negative social interactions? o  The National Research Council (2004) had a number of suggestions to better high schools:   Finding ways to get students engaged in learning  The best way to do this is to focus on psychological factors associated with motivation( ex- intrinsic motication) o Promoting a sense of belonging  High School Dropout Rates

Dropout rates have decreased over the past few decades Dropping  Out  Causes o  School-related problems o  Economic reasons o  Friends drop out o  Personal reasons   Reducing the Dropout Rate o  Early detection of children’s school-related difficulties. o  Get children engaged with school in positive ways o  Provide early reading programs, tutoring, counseling, and mentoring   Transition from High School to College   Replays the top-dog phenomenon   More impersonal school structure   Focus on assessment

  Reduced contact with parents   Increased depression in college students now compared to students in the 1980s   There are also potential consequences of college transition

  Transition from College to Work   Having a college degree is a strong asset. o  Income   The transition from college to work is often a difficult one   Many individuals have difficulty obtaining the type of job they desire, or any job.   Size and Climate of Schools   Strategies of Classroom Management o Authoritative strategy of classroom management: this teaching strategy encourages students to be independent thinkers and doers but still involves effective monitoring. Authoritative teachers engage students in considerable verbal give-and-take and show a caring attitude toward them. However, they still declare limits when necessary. o Authoritarian strategy of classroom management: this teaching strategy is restrictive and punitive. The focus is mainly on keeping order in the classroom rather than on instruction and learning. o Permissive strategy of classroom management: this strategy offers autonomy but provides them with little support for developing learning skills or managing their behavior.  Person-Environment Fit: Some negative psychological changes might result from a mismatch between the needs of developing adolescents and the opportunities afforded them by the schools they attend.   Teachers   Competent teachers of adolescents o  Understand adolescent development   Teacher traits associated with positive outcomes   Teaching strategies associated with positive student outcomes o  Developing caring classroom communities o  Enhancing students’ motivation to learn o  Planning and delivering engaging, assessment-driven instruction o  Supporting students’ deep processing and self-regulation skills   Parents and Schools   Parents play important roles in the adolescent’s success in schools. o  Through effective family management practices o  Being involved in adolescents’ schooling   Family Management o  Family management practices are positively related to grades and selfresponsibility, and negatively to school-related problems   Parental Involvement o  Decreases in secondary school o  Teachers believe it to be important in improving education

  Joyce Epstein (2001, 2005, 2007, 2009) offers these recommendations for increasing

parental involvement in adolescents’ schooling: o  Families have a basic obligation to provide for the safety and health of their adolescents o  Schools have a basic obligation to communicate with families about school programs and the individual progress of their adolescents o  Parents’ involvement at school needs to be increased o  Parent involvement in the adolescent’s learning activities at home needs to be encouraged...