Each of you has gotten approval for a topic of research (don't blog until you have your approved topic from me). Instead of the position paper (which was long and arduous), a blog conversation seems more fitting.
So share the following:
1. Your topic/debate (and remember, this is on a continuum and not necessarily an either/or).
2. Know the research that supports both sides of the issue (i.e. share how a four day school week benefits students and how it is detrimental...this will definitely apply to different types of learners!).
3. Share which learners are most impacted by the different sides...
4. Make your claim of what you believe is best for the majority of these learners below (i.e. is a 4 day week beneficial to most? Why? OR is a 4 day week detrimental to most? Why?
Blog #5 by Friday, Jan. 6th and respond to classmates by Sunday, Jan. 8th.
Here are the learners I'd like you to choose from...address AT LEAST 8 of the most applicable to your topic (many go for what they deem special needs but this list is the most common in-the-classroom reality in Missouri per DESE):
- Apathy
- At-Risk (gangs, drugs, attendance, sexual abuse, homeless, pregnancy, poverty [included by itself too as SES can impact students on all spectrums – think about a wealthy student in a middle class school, a poor student in a wealthy school – it goes both ways])
- Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Autism Spectrum
- Behaviorally challenged (undiagnosed) – this can be a classic ornery kid or a child who really cannot control him/herself/keep his/her hands to him/herself or one who is just not yet diagnosed
- Bullied or bullies -- these kids often have the same needs and often the bully starts off being bullied and hence becomes a bully as a coping mechanism
- Depression
- Dysgraphia, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia -- only include the ones that are applicable to the topic
- ELL/ESL
- Emotional Disorders (children of divorce, substance abuse in family or self, family issues, loss of a loved one, sibling rivalry issues, etc.) – this can range from mild to severe
- Giftedness
- Learning Disability (LD) – Academic deficit, language deficit, social-emotional problems, cognition deficits, motor skill/coordination problems, etc.) *Sometimes ADD & ADHD are included here
- Overextended student – students who do EVERYTHING from sports to choir to band to debates to virtually anything – these kids often suffer from extreme stress AND they often miss class due to games/matches, etc.
- Socio-Economic Status (SES) – especially a factor if a child is a different SES that his/her peers
- Shyness
- Struggling Reader (IEP or undiagnosed)
- Visual vs. Auditory learners (address them collectively)
Going to school all year round can be a great thing and a bad thing for many different types of learners. I think there are pros and cons to going to school all year. Getting rid of any sort of long break from school can improve a child's academic achievement. Long summers are known to cause a loss of academic skills and knowledge over the course of the extended vacation, so going to school year round would help keep the knowledge the students have already. Another pro is that There are many down sounds of going to school all year long, the effect on families and the time they get to spend together. Not having a summer may cause the family to not go on summer vacations or have as much time together. Also trying to find a person or place for child care with the different breaks throughout a all year school year.
ReplyDeleteI think for many students, for example students who are at risk, a behaviorally challenged child, a student who has dyscalculia, emotional disorders, learning disabilities, shy students or the ones who struggle with reading that going to school all year round would help. I think for the students who are at risk, with gangs, drugs, attendance, sexual abuse, pregnancy or students who are homeless, going to school all year round would benefit them the most. If a student is homeless, then during the summer they are not getting fed like they are during the school year, during school they get fed twice, but who know what they are getting during the summer. With many of those disabilities listed above, going to school all year round would be great for them. They would get to spend more time with the other students and teachers growing bonds with them, and getting out of their comfort zone. I do think going to school all year will really help those children with learning disabilities, dyscalculia and the ones who struggle with reading will get a greater benefit with going to school all year and have that extra help, rather than having a whole summer off to forget everything they have learned.
I do think for the overextended students, this would be hard for them at first. Some of those students play travel ball in the summer and that would take away from the time they could do that. It would take away that option yes, but it would bring a greater option. They would get to play sports all year round like they were doing, they would just be playing for the school and not a travel team. Or the students who want to get a job in the summer, that may be difficult here, but once a routine is set, working and going to school and trying to juggle everything else life throws at them, they could work and go to school all year, not needing just a job in the summer.
Year round school would truly benefit the majority of the learners and help the students retain the information they are learning better, less time to forget. They would have breaks so the students and the teachers would not be getting tired of going to school. I just think any way you think about it, that going to school all year is a great thing. Just being able to be learning without stopping is proven to show a student will retain more of the information rather than having that long break, having smaller more frequent breaks will allow them to still feel free, but without forgetting everything.
How would all year school benefit other at-risk students besides those without a home? You mentioned them but didn't exactly say how this would benefit them. And I would also like to counter your point on overextended students being able to work during school. When I was in high school I barely had any time to myself between my activities that I was in through school and church, school work and school itself, as well as holding down a job. My only break where I could get more than three to four hours a night and not feel stressed was during the summer. If that would have been severely shortened or taken away, I don't think I could have functioned. I couldn't quit my job because I was able to help my parents with bills by buying my own clothes and school supplies and I didn't want to quit my activities because I enjoyed them and they looked great on applications for jobs, scholarships, and college. There are also at-risk students who need the summertime to work more frequently than during school so they can help support their family. All-year school could put a lot of stress on them as well.
DeleteI do not think all year round schools is a good idea. If everyone did it then it would be okay because then everyone would be "in sync" for society. There is just too much going on outside of school and during school for that to happen. Sports and extracurricular activities is what I would say is the biggest reason it would not be a good idea. Despite meeting the needs of a majority of learners, the parents and the time that school is in session would just be bad for all year school.
DeleteIn my opinion learning is not only done in the classroom so because of that I am not in agreeance with year round school. When families go on vacation even within their own state, the children learn so much and then when that geographic area is discussed in school it has a greater meaning and more relevance thus the students tend to retain the information better. Succeeding in life takes more skills than just having book knowledge. During summer vacation, many student work and most of that is a full time schedule learning valuable skills such as employment essentials or trade skills. This peaks their interest as to what classes to take in school and their path after high school. I also feel in general that the students need a break to revive and refresh themselves as well as teachers. Quality weighs more than quantity. Having the summer school classes are a good option for those that need to have the extra work and take extra classes to free up their schedule during the school year for additional class work.
DeleteShould teachers give homework to students? This is a controversial topic and has been for a while. There are many people for both sides and there are also many positive and negatives for and against homework. I am going to be talking about High School/College age because kids in elementary should not have homework. It is too hard to get parents on board, students do enough in the classroom during school, and it is more beneficial for the students to play when they are home and interact with their parents and friends.
ReplyDeleteGiving homework: Giving homework can help students in a lot of ways. Students can learn how to manage time and balance their priorities. Instead of watching their favorite TV they have to first complete their homework which is helping them learn, the TV show will always be there for them, online/Netflix. Homework can also help the teacher know how they are doing and how the kids retained the information. In HS math class, when we had a lot of questions about the homework or my teacher saw we all struggled on an assignment, we would take an extra day to talk about the material again so that we could understand it. This was vital especially when it was a need to know/important lesson in math. Next, for subjects like math and foreign language classes, students needs to do homework daily to retain the information. When speaking a foreign language students have to practice every day, that is the most efficient way to learn a foreign language which is why students should be doing that homework multiple time a week. And the same for math in the sense that students need to practice math nightly to retain the information and learn it the best way possible. Something else that should be taken into consideration is how the school is set up. If a school is on a 10-block then they should probably give homework because they are only meeting every other day, but since they are having the students in class more, maybe they can give them the homework to do in class?! Lastly, homework can teach students how to take responsibility for their educational learning process. Students get taught by teachers in the school but outside of school, kids need to learn they are only going to get out of it what they put into it. Which I think is a good lesson to teach kids.
NOT giving homework: Homework should not be given out. If homework is given out, it does not need to be 3 hours a night. Kids have lives and things that they want to do and experience outside of 8 hours of schooling a day. Students may be discouraged to play sports or being in choir/band and all other extracurricular activities because they have to spend so much time doing homework. Colleges want to see kids that have decent GPAs and do other things that are not just being a bookworm. They want kids to participate in other educational, fun things like extracurriculars. Another reason that homework should not be given out is that students may want to have jobs. These students may want these jobs or have to have these jobs to help support their families. I know where I grew up that students HAD to work because they needed to support their home families. No one wants to come home to homework at 11pm after going to school for 8 hours and then working for another 6+ most nights of the week. The next reason that homework is not a good idea is that students may cheat or their parents help them on it. Students are getting a grade and when they have this help then how is the grade reflecting what THEY know instead of what other people know.
I think that is homework is given out that it should be for big projects that are spread out over a large period of time so that kids can budget their time and do the project over a week and not a 2 hour worksheet in a night. Also, teachers should be giving students time in class to work on things and if students do not finish it then they have to take it home and that homework is on them, the teacher did not assign it.
ReplyDeleteOn the side of not giving homework, I think the at-risk kids would benefit because they might not have time if they are homeless, poverty, low SES. They might not have the resources and they are usually the ones that have to work for the families outside of school and do things around the house to help out the parents. For example, babysitting their little brothers and sister because their parents work night jobs or two jobs. Kids with most of these learning disabilities, and disabilities in general would benefit from not having homework. If a student is depressed and has to come home and do homework, would that not make them more depressed? Wouldn't someone rather that child go home and get to play with their friends or do what they want to do, not what they have to do. Plus, if a student is depressed because they go home and have to help their parents out r whatever the reason, we as teachers do not want to add on to the struggle. My last example is if students with ADHD have a hard time in school, then why would we want to give them homework outside of school and make them sit down and do that, when they can be active and go have fun and do whatever makes them happy.
Benefiting from homework: Students that are gifted may want the homework as something to do. However, all kids love to have fun and homework can hold kids back from fun adventures in their life.
I personally think the biggest problem with homework is how much students get. If every teacher assigns just 30 minutes of homework a night, and you are on a 7 block schedule, that is 3.5 hours of homework a night. Just awful.
With all of this being said, I think that teachers do not need to give out homework. They need to clean up how they teach (differentiate their teaching) and do everything they want to do in class. I do not think homework needs to be completely eliminated. Papers, projects and things are still good but over long periods of time so that students can fit it into their schedule as well as math and foreign language still getting homework but no more than an hour total for both. To me this would benefit most of the different types of learners mentioned above.
I personally am pro-homework. I feel it is very important for a student to have something to do on their own and turn in so that they have extra practice and the teacher knows what they need to go over again. Homework does not always need an actual grade. What I mean by that is simply that it doesn't have to be "you got a 10/10" but instead can be participation points. The number of participation points can be determined by how much was attempted and completed. In addition to what I have suggested, would you feel differently if the homework was also just about what was learned in class that day?
DeleteSupplementary homework can be a good thing, but it just depends if it is 10 minutes or an hour. Homework does not need to be long, just needs to be a refresher for students.
DeleteYour position on both sides of the topic was very well presented and thorough. You brought out a lot of points for each side. It seems you personally feel minimal homework is a good thing and if homework is given it should definitely be kept to that minimum. I agree with you. As a parent I have seen some teachers give so much daily homework that my children are racing through it so much because they have other obligations once school is out of session that I don't feel they really gained anything from the assignment. As a teacher I have students trying to do homework in my class for another class rather than doing the task for my class, especially since I do not teach core classes. They know there are more consequences for lower grades in the core classes than the ones I teach however I feel the classes I teach the students will be using more after high school. Also I overhear them talking of copying assignments, so that defeats the purpose all together.
DeleteI think that homework is an important thing for most classes, it shows how the student is doing on the things taught in class. But your research on both sides is great. I think that some homework is a good thing, but like you said, not an hour of homework should be given because they should pay attention in class and a 10 minute homework assignment out of class should be good for them.
DeleteMy topic is based on the 1:1 initiative which is the idea of providing an individual piece of technology to each student. For instance, each student will be assigned a laptop. There are people on both sides of this thought process. Initially a lot of school districts jumped on board as the idea of each student having technology directly in their hands and narrowing the gap between those students that have access to technology and those who do not. But some argue that this initiative did not really show the results they were anticipating and keeping up with technology was extremely costly. Proponents felt that the initiative outweighed these negatives. Yes perhaps summative assessments results don't show the measurables that people outside of education would like to see but the intangibles that teachers see on a daily basis such as an increased desire to learn, is what makes people love this idea.
ReplyDeleteProbably the most common reason teachers like this initiative is that it does appeal to all learner types for example an instructional/informational video can be assigned to view. Auditory and visual learners can watch the video and visual learners/strong readers can read the transcript and mute the volume. Just the versatility the technology provides is a tremendous help for those students needing accommodations. Most of these students need extra time and having their own devise that they can progress through at their rate is such a confidence booster to the student. It allows individualized instruction without the embarrassment for the student as they would have felt in setting where the teacher does not different instruction. The learners I feel would benefit from a 1:1 initiative and why are
• Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) the ever changing “textbook” if you will, will keep their attention. The information isn't changing but the presentation format does. Also they can carry the iPad's with them to allow the teacher to enlist more small group work.
• Autism Spectrum – one way to get autistic children more adapted to a traditional classroom is by limiting disruptive sounds. Allowing them headphones in in which it blocks outside stressful notices, and focusing on their work.
• Behaviorally challenged (undiagnosed) – this can be a classic ornery kid or a child who really cannot control him/herself/keep his/her hands to him/herself or one who is just not yet diagnosed – keeping the student occupied and focused on their work will keep their mind off of bothering others.
• Emotional Disorders (children of divorce, substance abuse in family or self, family issues, loss of a loved one, sibling rivalry issues, etc.) – this can range from mild to severe – having this technology that they can search on their own helps them escape reality and focus on school.
• Giftedness - students can push themselves to learn the additional information and take the “game up a step.”
• Overextended student – students who do EVERYTHING from sports to choir to band to debates to virtually anything – these kids often suffer from extreme stress AND they often miss class due to games/matches, etc. – having a device they can take on the bus or bring home allows them to work on class around their busy schedule.
• Socio-Economic Status (SES) – especially a factor if a child is a different SES that his/her peers – this allows the students to have access to technology they wouldn't otherwise have.
• Struggling Reader (IEP or undiagnosed) – auditory avenues can be used for these learners. Books on tape for instance.
I have never really been clear on the 1:1 initiative until now even though I have (unknowingly) seen it in action two separate times now. You mentioned how people are for the 1:1 initiative but not much on why they are against it. Can you expand on that please?
DeleteI think that despite if it has shown positive or negative results. We need to be 1:1 anyways. The whole world is using technology for everything and our students need to become good with technology and problem solvers of technology and with it. Teachers and older generations are having trouble with adapting to using so much technology so if we start the kids off young and get them to know how to use key parts of technology, word, excel, powerpoint, then we will be doing what we need to be.
DeleteThe largest argument against is that it is questionable if the benefits outweigh the cost of providing the hardware and keeping it updated for all the students. There have been challenges to being able to quantify the advancement in learning of having the devices versus not. Personally I think it is one of those outcomes that can't really be measured in absolute data values.
DeleteI do believe that 1 to 1 is a very important thing in the classroom, because the world is changing fast and everything is becoming a technological thing. As teachers we need to know how to use technology even if we don't like it because if you are anything like me, I do not like it, I am so bad with it, but it is an important thing to use while teaching. No matter what, we can get the most up to date technology, but the next day, something will be better, so just getting the students started young will help them along the way.
DeleteMy topic is looping. Looping is when a teacher moves forward with their students. This can happen for just one year or several. Most of the research that I have found on the subject shows looping as being more beneficial than detrimental to students.For instance, teachers continue building upon the current relationship with the student’s and their parents, teachers already know their students’ needs and progress, teacher innovation is promoted, the teacher is able to fill in any gaps in the student’s knowledge or their own instruction from the previous year. This has shown to be beneficial to both students and teachers by letting the teacher continue building upon the current relationship with the student’s and their parents, teachers already knowing their students’ needs and progress, promoting teacher innovation, and allowing the teacher to fill in any gaps in the student’s knowledge or their own instruction from the previous year. At the same time, teachers may be less comfortable in every area, there may be less exposure to different teaching methods and learning methods, students may adapt less to change and negative relationships between a student and teacher may be allowed to persist. I personally believe each and every one of these can be fixed. To combat negative relationships, the child may be moved to a different classroom. A teacher should be using different learning methods which should allow students to adapt to change and the school should help the teacher find programs that help in areas that they don't feel comfortable in. We often don't feel comfortable because we don't know the material as well as we would like. Looping can be extremely beneficial to children with autism, learning disabilities, emotional, intellectual or behavioral disorders, those who are shy or antisocial, those with Asperger’s Syndrome, and those who are visual or auditory learners because the teacher already knows how to deal with these things.This results in less time being used figuring out what those students need and in more time in helping them grow more than the previous year. I personally believe that looping is more beneficial to every student and that it should happen at least once in a school.
ReplyDeleteI think that looping is a really good idea. Yes there are standards that teachers should follow and school as well as grade level expectations but not all teachers get to the same stuff. The teacher traveling with the students would know what he/she taught and could build on that every year. With that being said, the teacher would also know all the needs of the students and good ways to accommodate them after the first year. I think this would be very beneficial for all types of learners.
DeletePersonally I like looping. My children did this when they were 1-2 grades and I really feel it helped they excel. My children felt more comfortable with their teacher in the second year and the teachers felt more comfortable with them and us. It seemed like a much better partnership in the education experience for our children. Also I think they gained a good month of school in the sense there was not a learning curve. The second year was started out at a much faster pace. Therefore I am for looping.
DeleteI think that looping is such a great thing not only for the students but for the teachers as well. They both get to know each other really well and they can stick with what they know. Since these teachers will know how each one of them learn, it will be easier for them to incorporate things to help all of their students. Staying with the same group of students will help them come out of their shell as well, getting more comfortable with the people they are with, helping them learn. I just really love the thought of moving on with your students.
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