Notes from Ontario Public School Board's Association Conference June 2010
Speaker: Penny Milton from Canadian Educational Association (CEA)
Gap between achievement of Rich and Poor Kids
How can the gap between the achievement of rich kids and poor kids in school be shortened.
Research consistently shows poor kids are less likely to graduate. Meanwhile the divide in knowledge between rich and poor kids (the general knowledge they bring to school) widens, the digital divide increases and with new knowledge rich kids keep on doing better.
Background
The CEA produced videos of students’ own aspirations for education “Imagine a School” “Design for Living” and developed the survey tool “What Did You Do In School Today" which has produced data showing how connected kids are to schools. CEA learnt that it was a good experience for the kids and of the impact of being involved in the videos. One kid explained that this was the first time she realized that she could make a difference. Others went on to college which had never been expected was for them.
CEA wants to make the changes in education that Mustard and McCain achieved through their Early Years Reports regarding the importance of the early years.
The CEA has worked using relationships with faculties of education, governments, and teacher federations and set out to measure changes and quality of relationships.
Concept of Engagement has developed through these projects:
- Social Engagement: belonging and participating in school life
- Institutional Engagement: participating in formal requirements of schooling (e.g. attendance, credit accumulation and homework completion)
- Intellectual Engagement: emotional and cognitive investment in learning using higher order thinking, solving problems or constructing new knowledge
- Instructional Challenge is the newest area: how to change teaching practice to lead to greater student instructional engagement
“What did you Do in School Today” surveys constructed with help of J.Doug Willms.
Total of 32,000 students responded:
67% participate in school life (social engagement)
71% have a sense of belonging (social engagement)
69% attend regularly (institutional engagement)
37% have intellectual engagement
See the highest level of engagement in students in Grade 6 (the lowest grade surveyed). Student engagement declines from Grade 6 onwards.
The instructional challenge is to provide the conditions for students to be interested and successful when they are working on something they care about, and have the skills to do it. When students are anxious, for many the challenge is too great for the skills they possess. When students are apathetic they do not care about the work they are given. Bored students possess the skills and are not challenged.
When students surveyed:
| | Language Arts Students | Math students |
| Anxious | 19% | 24% |
| Apathetic | 7% | 5% |
| Interested | 43% | 45% |
| Bored | 26% | 26% |
Do Schools make a Difference?
Schools vary a great deal in how students are engaged in them. Found one school where 99% of the students feel they belong but intellectual engagement is low and students’ results are low
The most energized schools are engaging their students in data analyses and school planning. Ideas are sticky. Some schools now include their findings in their accountability documents and in the most successful schools and districts students is part of the enterprise. For example they survey the kids and then publish the results and students help design the solutions to problems that emerge from the data.
Democratic ideals need to be modelled.
This work is calling for a transformation in schools and the way they engage students intellectually. Schools must meet the instructional challenge and provide students with a sense of ownership and responsibility for their own learning. They must be involved in co-designing their learning in classrooms that support student voice and autonomy. They must engage students in becoming literate with technologies.
More can be found on the Canadian Educational Association Web site: http://cea-ace.ca/home.cfm
No comments:
Post a Comment