Contemporary American Education

Contemporary American Education

Student Writing Assignment - Strengths and Needs: Part 1

Introduction

The high school in which I teach is located in a small rural town. In fact, it is the only high school in the county. Even though it operates under federal, state, and local regulatory laws, it is literally self-sufficient.

Strengths

1. The students are provided a very informative handbook in which school and board policies are clarified. Specific information about attendance, suspensions, and expulsions is outlined in the handbook. Almost everything a student would want or need to know can be found in the student handbook.

2. The faculty and staff are provided a handbook in which board and school policies are outlined. Duties and responsibilities are clearly outlined and are easy to understand. The entire handbook provides a lot of information for beginning and transferring teachers.

3. School administrators and staff enjoy a very good rapport with community leaders and periodically participate in community-wide activities.

Weaknesses include:

1. The school's infrastructure is very outdated.

2. The school building and grounds are in dire need of maintenance.

3. The school has poor heating and air conditioning systems.

4. Furniture in the school is old, broken, and scratched.

5. Test scores are below the state and national average.

6. There is no organic gymnasium.

7. Internal communication between the teaching staff and the administration is in need of improvement.

8. ISS does not provide adequate discipline and rehabilitation.

Marzano, Pickering and Pollock (2001) outline a number of strategies proven to improve student achievement. The strategy of reinforcing effort and providing recognition is the one that would be most beneficial to the students enrolled at the high school in which I teach because of the low test scores and the high lack of motivation. The techniques presented by Marzano et al. (2001) address students' attitudes and beliefs and provides theory and methods of involving the students via self-evaluation and maintaining records of their grades. Marzano et al. (2001) maintain that not all students realize the importance of believing in effort, but they can learn to change their beliefs through the teaching-learning process. Marzano et al. (2001) state, "Teachers should make sure that they explicitly teach and exemplify the connection between effort and achievement." Marzano et al. (2001) found that when students keep track of their own effort and achievement, it increases motivation and self-esteem and results in improved student achievement. Marzano et al. (2001) presents samples of self-assessment charts and graphs on which students could record and maintain a record of their assignments and grades, using an effort rubric and an achievement rubric. When viewing their record sheets, they can visibly see that the amount of effort they put into tasks has a direct bearing on their performance.

Conclusion

While school officials and administrators should do what is necessary to provide an environment that is conducive for learning, teachers must put forth more effort in teaching effort as a means to an endÐ'--reaching the desired results.

Contemporary American Education

Student Writing Assignment: Brain Structures and Functions: Part 2

Introduction

Goodman and Tessier-Lavigne (as cited in Campbell, Campbell, Dickson, Drubach, and Ormrod, 2000-2004) noted that the amazingly complicated human brain involves approximately 100 billion microscopic neurons. Campbell et al. (2000-2004) inform that even though it has been a tough challenge for researches to figure out how the brain works, a considerable amount of progress has been made.

The Relationship Between Learning and the Brain

Beeman, Chiarello and Ornstein (as cited in Campbell et al., 2000-2004) found that two hemispheresÐ'--left and right-- are joined together by a collection of neurons that enables constant communication back and forth; thus, they collaborate in day-to-day tasks. Campbell et al. (2000-2004) noted that all of the structures of the brain are interconnected, and Bresler, Thelen, and Smith (as cited in Campbell et al., 2000-2004) found that learning or simply thinking tend to be disbursed across several parts of the brain. Byrnes et al (as cited in Campbell et al., 2000-2004) concluded that a simple task such as identifying a particular word would activate multiple areas of the cortex.

Summary

Being reminded about how interconnected the brain is and how the left and right hemispheres work has motivated me to be more attentive to how my students process information. Just utilizing this knowledge would aid in preparing lessons and activities centered on how my students learn, which should increase achievement.

Contemporary American Education

Student Writing Assignment

Discover the Diversity of Learners: Part 2 (continued)

Introduction

Campbell, Campbell, Dickson, Drubach, and Ormrod (2000-2004) discussed how different people are and how differently they learn. Discussed are the various types of learners. They include: (a) the visual learner, (b) the auditory learner, (c) the kinesthetic learner (c) the print-oriented learner, and (e) the group-process learner.

Types of Learners

Campbell et al. (2000-2004) described the visual learner as one who "likes to see a picture, a mind map, a graph, or any other type of illustration or set of symbols of what is being learned" (p. 311). The auditory learner is described as one who understands best by listening. Auditory learners like to sit quietly and absorb everything that is being said; they enjoy lectures. Kinesthetic or movement learners are athletically inclined or need to literally get physical in the teaching-learning process. They might need to feel or walk through tasks in order to grasp a single concept. Print-ordered learners like