Southern Regional Education Board HSTW Heads-On, Hands-on Learning Heads-On, Hands-On Learning: Key...
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Southern Regional Education Board HSTW Heads-On, Hands-on Learning Heads-On, Hands-On Learning: Key to Student Motivation, Improved Achievement and Higher Graduation Rates Ten Actions Districts and Schools Can Take Gene Bottoms Senior Vice President [email protected]
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Transcript of Southern Regional Education Board HSTW Heads-On, Hands-on Learning Heads-On, Hands-On Learning: Key...
Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Heads-On, Hands-On Learning:Key to Student Motivation, Improved Achievement and
Higher Graduation Rates
Ten Actions Districts and Schools Can Take
Gene BottomsSenior Vice President
Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Why improve graduation rates and achievement?
The current focus is on meeting minimum achievement levels, not graduation.
Many students enter high school unprepared.
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Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Why improve graduation rates and achievement?
Many high school graduates are unprepared for college and work.
Dropouts are costly to local communities, states and the nation.
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Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Why do high schools exist?
The purpose of high schools is to:Graduate more students.
Graduate them prepared for a next step – postsecondary studies, career training, the military, employment, apprenticeships, etc.
Graduate them prepared to be responsible adults and to promote the common good. 4
Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Why do high schools exist?
Graduates should meet a common threshold-level of knowledge and skills in reading, writing and math.
Students should leave high school meeting college-readiness standards, work-readiness standards or both.
5
Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Actions Districts and Schools Can Take
Action 1: Give equal priority to graduation and achievement in school improvement strategies.
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Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Actions Districts and Schools Can Take
Action 2: Set ambitious goals for improving graduation rates.
Set a graduation goal of 90 percent with annual incremental targets.
Report results annually.7
Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Action 3: Set achievement goals for high school students beyond minimum competency. Identify students who exceed minimum by recognizing those who:
Passed readiness exams for college and training Passed industry certification exams – #7, #20, #302
Passed AP courses and exams – #10
Are eligible for merit scholarships Exceeded the state’s minimum graduation
requirements Earned college credit through dual or joint
enrollment
Actions Schools and Districts Can Take
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Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Action 4: Develop the will and capacity to implement necessary reform strategies.
Teachers are willing to learn new practices – #285, #384, #427, #438, #322, #549
Principals are willing to lead and support – #198, #281, #526
School board and district staff support the reform – #41, #46, #139, #250, #577
School and teacher leaders take ownership of problems and solutions – #42, #90, #141, #189, #242, #379
Actions Schools and Districts Can Take
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Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Significant changes in graduation rates and
achievement will require: A successful start in grade nine –
#169, #222, #310, #356
A planned program of study leading to stated goal – See guidance sessions.
Successful transition from high school to next step – #568
Making success, rather than failure, the option – #101, #393, #581
Recognizing that one path does not fit all
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Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Action 5: Strengthen middle grades students’ transition into high school and reduce failure rates in grade nine.
Agree on ninth-grade readiness standards – #285, #340, #440
Identify and accelerate instruction for low-performing students – #3, #13, #165, #351, #386, #404
Redesign the ninth grade
Actions Schools and Districts Can Take
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Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Develop indicators and annually improve on the
percentages of students who:
Enter grade nine ready to succeed in high school courses
Earn enough credit as first-time freshmen to be classified as sophomores the following year
Earn enough credits as sophomores to be classified as juniors the following year
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Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Redesign the Ninth Grade
Assign experienced and effective teachers to grade nine.
Keep the student-teacher ratio at or below the ratio in other grade levels.
Engage students in heads-on and hands-on learning.
Teach study skills and other habits of success.
Sessions #121, #166, #169, #233, #310, #356, #401, #45913
Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Redesign the Ninth Grade
Design CT courses for students to use reading and mathematics skills to complete projects and activities.
Allow flexible scheduling to provide the support students will need to succeed.
Assist students to develop an individual graduation plan with parent involvement tailored to students’ specific interests, skills and aspirations.
Sessions #121, #166, #169, #233, #310, #356, #401, #459 14
Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
To motivate students to succeed in school, we must connect what we ask them to learn to their present and to their future.Questions teachers should ask: How will students use this content in their world? How will my course deepen students’ current
interests? How can my course help students achieve their
goals? How will the course help students explain their
experiences? What will students gain if they pass my course (or
lose if they do not)? Sessions #26, #126, #365, #412, #463, #541 15
Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Engaging Students Emotionally with Heads-On Assignments
Student report having to: Revise essays several times to improve
quality Make an oral presentation on a project or
assignment Solve mathematics problems outside
textbook Orally defend a process for solving math
problems Prepare written science lab reports Use mathematics to solve problems in
science16
Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Engaging Students Emotionally with Heads-On Assignments
64% 66%
58%54%
58%53%
39% 39%36%
Reading Mathematics Science
High Moderate Low
17Sessions #24, #25, #80, #127, #175, #318, #506
Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Action 6: Recognize that one path to graduation does not fit all students.
Grade recovery – #15, #16, #264
Credit recovery – #201, #220, #221,#355, #455
Web-based instruction – #201, #287
Extended time – #352, #496
Alternative setting – #408
Actions Schools and Districts Can Take
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Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Actions Schools and Districts Can Take
Action 7: Broaden the definition of academic rigor to include career/technical (CT) programs of study that join a solid academic core with a sequence of quality CT courses.
Sessions #64, #149, #172, #299, #300
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Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Broader Definition of Rigor
Application-based learning (authentic problems) – #263
Higher-order, problem-solving learning (knowledge in context) – #79, #127
Depth-based learning (deeper, rather than broader, coverage of content)
Blended programs of academic and technical studies – #541
Demonstration-based assessments beyond reading, writing and mathematics – #173
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Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Design Career-Focused Programs of Study to Help More Students
Graduate Prepared for Postsecondary Options
Four years of challenging language arts courses – #273, #322, #394
Four years of mathematics – #214, #216
Three years of inquiry- and lab-based science
Four courses in a planned sequence of CT courses with challenging assignments and embedded academic content
Sessions #110, #149, #297, #298, #300, #395, #397, #44521
Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Students are most engaged academically when they are challenged with demanding learning goals and when they have opportunities to experience a sense of competence and accomplishment.
Session #331
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Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Design Hybrid Academic and CT Courses
Schools should take steps to ensure that:
CT courses are equivalent in content and complexity to traditional academic courses
Teachers are qualified and have special training
Students achieve at a level comparable to students in traditional academic courses
Time is scheduled for academic and CT teachers to work together
Sessions #128, #164, #232, #336, #43623
Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Make CT Courses Intellectually Demanding
Schools must establish criteria to redesign CT courses that require students to:
Do substantial reading and reflective writing in the career field
Describe orally what they have learned through class projects
Develop their analytical thinking skills
Demonstrate trouble-shooting and problem-solving skills
Sessions #51, #59, #156, #44224
Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Make CT Courses Intellectually Demanding
Schools must establish criteria to redesign CT courses that require students to:
Develop research and organizational skills to address a problem or task
Use mathematics to support decisions and complete a class project
Learn the habits of the mind for inventions, experimentation, design, etc.
Sessions #51, #59, #156, #442
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Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Engaging Students Socially with Heads-On Assignments
Students report:
Debating topics from material read in English and other classes
Solving challenging mathematics problems
Completing a challenging science assignment/project
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Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Engaging Students Socially with Heads-On Learning
59%55% 53%
45% 45% 43%
Reading Mathematics ScienceFrequently Seldom
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Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Engaging Students inHands-On Assignments
to Advance Heads-On LearningStudents report:
Using science equipment to do science activities and labs related to a local environmental problem
Collecting, analyzing and developing charts, graphs and diagrams to explain the benefits for a youth center in gang-riddled community
Researching local ordinances for constructing a new house and filing the necessary paper work 28
Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Engaging Students in Hands-On Learning to Complete Heads-On Assignments
65%61% 60%58%
54%
43%44% 43%39%
Reading Mathematics ScienceHigh Moderate Low
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Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Actions Districts and Schools Can Take
Action 8: Make better use of the 12th grade to prepare more students for graduation and for postsecondary options.
Give college-ready students an early start Help unprepared students become college-ready Help career-bound students become work-ready Prepare students to graduate Session #20, #123, #268, #270, #312, #313, #361, #407,
#466, #56830
Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Actions Districts and Schools Can Take
Action 9: Target the most at-risk students to raise their achievement and graduation rates.
Provide identified students with support
Restructure the school to create a more personalized and relevant learning environment
Sessions #190, #192, #197, #307, #331, #383, #47931
Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
Actions Districts and Schools Can Take
Action 10: Bring dropouts backinto the education system.
Make the 13th year more attractive
Work with other institutions to return students to school
Adopt flexible schedules Sessions #102, #239, #341, #352, #459, #478, #558
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Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTWHeads-On, Hands-on Learning
In summary, districts and schools can raise BOTH achievement and graduation rates:
Give equal priority to raising student achievement and high school graduation
Set ambitious goals
Broaden the definition of rigor
Target the lowest-performing students
Support proven practices to improve achievement and graduation rates
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