Download or read book The Case for Improving and Expanding Time in School written by David A. Farbman and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 15 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can more time in school lead to more learning and, by extension, greater success in life? As this report will highlight, both research and practice indicate that adding time to the school day and/or year can have a meaningfully positive impact on student proficiency and, indeed, upon a child's entire educational experience. Such enhancement can be especially consequential for economically disadvantaged students, who tend to enter school trailing behind their more affluent peers academically, continue to lag as they proceed through each grade, and have fewer opportunities outside of school for learning. For these millions of students, more time in school can be a path to equity. The evidence makes clear that expanding school time holds this potential because, when planned and implemented well, it confers three distinct, though interdependent, benefits to both students and teachers: (1) More engaged time in academic classes, allowing broader and deeper coverage of curricula, as well as more individualized learning support; (2) More dedicated time for teacher collaboration and embedded professional development that enable educators to strengthen instruction and develop a shared commitment to upholding high expectations; and (3) More time devoted to enrichment classes and activities that expand students' educational experiences and boost engagement in school. This report explores these three benefits, which emerge as a redesigned education, built upon a longer school day and year, opens up new learning and growth opportunities. Using a mix of formal research inquiries and effective practices studies from the field, evidence is considered that demonstrates how time relates to each of the three benefits. Along with explicating the value that more time in schools can bring, the research also makes clear that time is a resource which must be used well and in concert with a continuous focus on quality implementation to realize its full potential. [This is an updated report from 2012. For the 2012 report "The Case for Improving and Expanding Time in School: A Review of Key Research and Practice," see ED534894.].

Download or read book The Case for Improving and Expanding Time in School written by David Farbman and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 12 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Common sense tells us that when it comes to learning, time matters. An individual simply cannot become more proficient in any given area without committing a certain amount of time to grasping new content, practicing and honing skills, and then applying knowledge and skills to realizing specific aims. Think of the chess master who plays match after match to improve his game or the scientist who toils long hours in her laboratory to unlock the mysteries of an intricate phenomenon. For them, becoming more adept in their chosen field is the result, in large part, of the time they invest. The great irony is that, for the better part of a century, our nation's public school system has, by its rigid adherence to the conventional calendar of 180 six-and-a-half-hour days, essentially disregarded the fundamental connection between time and learning. So what happens when schools and students are provided significantly more time for learning? As this review will highlight, both research and practice indicate that adding time can have a meaningfully positive impact on student proficiency and, indeed, upon a child's entire educational experience. The evidence makes clear that expanded time holds this potential because more time confers three distinct, though overlapping, benefits for both students and teachers: (a) More engaged time in academic classes, alongside broader and deeper coverage of curricula; (b) More time devoted to enrichment classes and activities that enhance students' educational experiences and engagement in school; and (c) More dedicated time for teacher collaboration and embedded professional development that together enable educators to strengthen instruction and develop a shared commitment to high expectations. In this paper, the authors explore these three benefits, which emerge as a longer school day and year open up new learning and growth opportunities. They consider evidence that demonstrates how time relates to each of the three, using a mix of form research studies and qualitative data from the field. As much as this evidence underscores the value that more time in schools can bring, it also makes clear that time is a resource that must be used well to realize its full potential. Absent intentionality of purpose and the deliberate pursuit of high quality, the power of more time will simply lie dormant. (Contains 2 tables, 2 figures and 52 notes.).

Download or read book Expanded Learning Time written by Jennifer McMurrer and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 29 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many low-performing schools across the nation have increased learning time in response to federal requirements for the School Improvement Grant (SIG) program. The conditions governing federal waivers of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) also require certain schools to redesign the school day, week, or year to include additional time for student learning and teacher collaboration. Furthermore, the waivers allow greater flexibility to redirect certain federal funding streams toward increased learning time. This report by the Center on Education Policy (CEP) at the George Washington University summarizes the findings of a series of case studies of 17 low-performing schools within 11 school districts in four geographically dispersed states--Connecticut, Colorado, Oregon, and Virginia. This research examined state and local efforts to expand learning time through the unique lens of state and local responses to specific federal provisions. In particular, we investigated the strategies being used by the case study sites to meet federal requirements and encouragements for increased or expanded learning time, and the challenges, successes, and impacts associated with this implementation process. All four states in this study have been granted ESEA waivers. Most of the case study schools received SIG funds and/or were identified as "priority" schools under ESEA waivers, meaning that they were among the lowest-performing schools in their state. From October 2013 through March 2014, CEP staff and consultants visited all of the participating districts and the majority of participating schools. We interviewed 49 education leaders, including 13 state education officials, 18 district leaders, and 18 school principals. We also gathered information from state ESEA waiver applications and other relevant state, district, and school policy documents. As explained later in this report, different federal initiatives use different terminology and definitions for provisions that have the common goal of adding time for student learning and for teacher collaboration, professional development, or planning. For simplicity's sake, this report uses the umbrella term of "expanded learning time," or ELT, to describe these various approaches. Throughout this report, the findings are supported by examples from specific districts and schools. Key findings included: (1) Case study schools are meeting the federal requirements to expand learning time, but ELT is costly, and the short-term nature of federal grants is causing difficulties for some schools; (2) Case study districts and schools differ in when and how they expand learning time; (3) State, district, and school leaders participating in these case studies often emphasized that improving the quality of instruction in low-performing schools was just as important as increasing the quantity of instructional time; (4) There was evidence of improved student outcomes in some, but not all, of the case study schools; however, several schools were in the early stages of ELT implementation at the time of the study; (5) Few case study districts and schools were taking advantage of the flexibility afforded by waivers to redirect certain federal funding streams to ELT; (6) States and districts varied in their level of involvement and support for ELT initiatives in schools; (7) Implementing ELT sometimes required negotiations with teachers' unions about such issues as contractual time and compensation; and (8) Teacher and student fatigue from longer school days was cited as a challenge in implementing ELT in all four states studied. More detailed information can be found in the individual reports developed by CEP for each of the four states and 11 districts. These detailed reports, plus three appendices, are available on the CEP website (www.cep-dc.org). [This report was written with the assistance of Nancy Kober.].

Download or read book Learning to Improve written by Anthony S. Bryk and published by Harvard Education Press. This book was released on 2015-03-01 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a field, education has largely failed to learn from experience. Time after time, promising education reforms fall short of their goals and are abandoned as other promising ideas take their place. In Learning to Improve, the authors argue for a new approach. Rather than “implementing fast and learning slow,” they believe educators should adopt a more rigorous approach to improvement that allows the field to “learn fast to implement well.” Using ideas borrowed from improvement science, the authors show how a process of disciplined inquiry can be combined with the use of networks to identify, adapt, and successfully scale up promising interventions in education. Organized around six core principles, the book shows how “networked improvement communities” can bring together researchers and practitioners to accelerate learning in key areas of education. Examples include efforts to address the high rates of failure among students in community college remedial math courses and strategies for improving feedback to novice teachers. Learning to Improve offers a new paradigm for research and development in education that promises to be a powerful driver of improvement for the nation’s schools and colleges.

Download or read book Duck and Cover written by Rick Ginsberg and published by Teachers College Press. This book was released on 2023 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Explore what the authors label educational "duck and cover" policies-ideas that are no longer useful or are not scientifically sound or even logical. The authors offer recommendations for reconsidering, replacing, or just removing these dubious practices. Topics include standardized testing, college and career readiness, social and emotional learning, teaching evaluations, and professional development"--

Download or read book The Education We Need for a Future We Can t Predict written by Thomas Hatch and published by Corwin Press. This book was released on 2021-01-19 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Improve Schools and Transform Education In order for educational systems to change, we must reevaluate deep-seated beliefs about learning, teaching, schooling, and race that perpetuate inequitable opportunities and outcomes. Hatch, Corson, and Gerth van den Berg challenge the narrative when it comes to the "grammar of schooling"--or the conventional structures, practices, and beliefs that define educational experiences for so many children—to cast a new vision of what school could be. The book addresses current systemic problems and solutions as it: Highlights global examples of successful school change Describes strategies that improve educational opportunities and performance Explores promising approaches in developing new learning opportunities Outlines conditions for supporting wide-scale educational improvement This provocative book approaches education reform by highlighting what works, while also demonstrating what can be accomplished if we redefine conventional schools. We can make the schools we have more efficient, more effective, and more equitable, all while creating powerful opportunities to support all aspects of students’ development. "You won’t find a better book on system change in education than this one. We learn why schools don’t change; how they can improve; what it takes to change a system; and, in the final analysis, the possibilities of system change. Above all, The Education We Need renders complexity into clarity as the writing is so clear and compelling. A powerful read on a topic of utmost importance." ~Michael Fullan, Professor Emeritus, OISE/Universtiy of Toronto "I cannot recommend this book highly enough – Tom tackles long-standing and emerging educational issues in new ways with an impressive understanding of the challenging complexities, but also feasible possibilities, for ensuring excellence and equity for all students." ~Carol Campbell, Associate Professor, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto

Download or read book Champions of Change written by Edward B. Fiske and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Impact of School Infrastructure on Learning written by Peter Barrett and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2019-02-04 with total page 71 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'The Impact of School Infrastructure on Learning: A Synthesis of the Evidence provides an excellent literature review of the resources that explore the areas of focus for improved student learning, particularly the aspiration for “accessible, well-built, child-centered, synergetic and fully realized learning environments.†? Written in a style which is both clear and accessible, it is a practical reference for senior government officials and professionals involved in the planning and design of educational facilities, as well as for educators and school leaders. --Yuri Belfali, Head of Division, Early Childhood and Schools, OECD Directorate for Education and Skills This is an important and welcome addition to the surprisingly small, evidence base on the impacts of school infrastructure given the capital investment involved. It will provide policy makers, practitioners, and those who are about to commission a new build with an important and comprehensive point of reference. The emphasis on safe and healthy spaces for teaching and learning is particularly welcome. --Harry Daniels, Professor of Education, Department of Education, Oxford University, UK This report offers a useful library of recent research to support the, connection between facility quality and student outcomes. At the same time, it also points to the unmet need for research to provide verifiable and reliable information on this connection. With such evidence, decisionmakers will be better positioned to accurately balance the allocation of limited resources among the multiple competing dimensions of school policy, including the construction and maintenance of the school facility. --David Lever, K-12 Facility Planner, Former Executive Director of the Interagency Committee on School Construction, Maryland Many planners and designers are seeking a succinct body of research defining both the issues surrounding the global planning of facilities as well as the educational outcomes based on the quality of the space provided. The authors have finally brought that body of evidence together in this well-structured report. The case for better educational facilities is clearly defined and resources are succinctly identified to stimulate the dialogue to come. We should all join this conversation to further the process of globally enhancing learning-environment quality! --David Schrader, AIA, Educational Facility Planner and Designer, Former Chairman of the Board of Directors, Association for Learning Environments (A4LE)

Download or read book From Head to Heart High Quality Teaching Practices in the Spotlight written by Nicholas D. Young and published by Vernon Press. This book was released on 2019-02-15 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is widely acknowledged that today’s teachers are tasked with educating increasingly diverse students as well as addressing their academic and social-emotional needs. This book examines cutting-edge teaching practices that make a difference in improving general educator and/or student performance across the grade spans. The emphasis is placed on research-based strategies, practices, and theories that can be readily translated into classroom practice. From Head to Heart: High Quality Teaching Practices in the Spotlight considers the importance of more personal topics within the teaching field, such as teacher wellness, as well as including information on effective teaching practices that seek to inspire and empower students and teachers. This book will be of interest to those that work within a pedagogical environment as well as university students and parents, alike.

Download or read book Schoolishness written by Susan D. Blum and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2024-05-15 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Schoolishness, Susan D. Blum continues her journey as an anthropologist and educator. The author defines "schoolishness" as educational practices that emphasize packaged "learning," unimaginative teaching, uniformity, constant evaluation by others, arbitrary forms, predetermined time, and artificial boundaries, resulting in personal and educational alienation, dependence, and dread. Drawing on critical, progressive, and feminist pedagogy in conversation with the anthropology of learning, and building on the insights of her two previous books Blum proposes less-schoolish ways of learning in ten dimensions, to lessen the mismatch between learning in school and learning in the wild. She asks, if learning is our human "superpower," why is it so difficult to accomplish in school? In every chapter Blum compares the fake learning of schoolishness with successful examples of authentic learning, including in her own courses, which she scrutinizes critically. Schoolishness is not a pedagogical how-to book, but a theory-based phenomenology of institutional education. It has moral, psychological, and educational arguments against schoolishness that, as Blum notes, "rhymes with foolishness."

Download or read book What the Best College Teachers Do written by Ken Bain and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2011-09-01 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What makes a great teacher great? Who are the professors students remember long after graduation? This book, the conclusion of a fifteen-year study of nearly one hundred college teachers in a wide variety of fields and universities, offers valuable answers for all educators. The short answer is—it’s not what teachers do, it’s what they understand. Lesson plans and lecture notes matter less than the special way teachers comprehend the subject and value human learning. Whether historians or physicists, in El Paso or St. Paul, the best teachers know their subjects inside and out—but they also know how to engage and challenge students and to provoke impassioned responses. Most of all, they believe two things fervently: that teaching matters and that students can learn. In stories both humorous and touching, Ken Bain describes examples of ingenuity and compassion, of students’ discoveries of new ideas and the depth of their own potential. What the Best College Teachers Do is a treasure trove of insight and inspiration for first-year teachers and seasoned educators.

Download or read book Improving Student Learning written by Herbert J. Walberg and published by IAP. This book was released on 2010-12-01 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Improving Schools to Promote Learning is a concise and common-sense examination of all the moving parts that drive student learning. The book ties together the research, policies, and practices relative to the state, district, school, classroom, and family, and explains their effects on student learning. The author covers an array of topics, including technology, charter schools, turnaround initiatives, and instruction in specific subject areas. Herbert J. Walberg’s book continues the work of previous publications from the Center on Innovation & Improvement (Handbook on Restructuring and Substantial School Improvement and Handbook on the Statewide Systems of Support) that connect research to practice at various levels of the education system. The book is accessible to a wide audience, including educators, school board members, parents, and policy makers. Walberg includes action steps in every chapter, providing practical recommendations for improved student achievement. The author also offers select references for additional material on the best research and most effective practices.

Download or read book Making Money Matter written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1999-11-30 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States annually spends over $300 billion on public elementary and secondary education. As the nation enters the 21st century, it faces a major challenge: how best to tie this financial investment to the goal of high levels of achievement for all students. In addition, policymakers want assurance that education dollars are being raised and used in the most efficient and effective possible ways. The book covers such topics as: Legal and legislative efforts to reduce spending and achievement gaps. The shift from "equity" to "adequacy" as a new standard for determining fairness in education spending. The debate and the evidence over the productivity of American schools. Strategies for using school finance in support of broader reforms aimed at raising student achievement. This book contains a comprehensive review of the theory and practice of financing public schools by federal, state, and local governments in the United States. It distills the best available knowledge about the fairness and productivity of expenditures on education and assesses options for changing the finance system.

Download or read book Expanding Opportunity in Higher Education written by Patricia Gándara and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The dream of public higher education in America is to provide opportunity for many and to offer transformative help to American communities and the economy. Expanding Opportunity in Higher Education explores the massive challenges facing California and the nation in realizing this goal during a time of enormous demographic change. The immediate focus on California is particularly appropriate given the size of the state—it educates one out of every nine students in the country—and its checkered political record with respect to civil rights and educational inequities. The book includes essays not only by academics looking at the state's educational system as a whole, but also by those within the policy system who are trying to keep it going in difficult times. The contributors show that the destiny of California, and the nation, rests on the courage of policymakers, both within the universities and within the government, to move aggressively to reclaim the hope of millions of students who can make enormous contributions to this society if only given the chance.

Download or read book Mission High written by Kristina Rizga and published by Bold Type Books. This book was released on 2015-08-04 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book is a godsend a moving portrait for anyone wanting to go beyond the simplified labels and metrics and really understand an urban high school, and its highly individual, resilient, eager and brilliant students and educators." -- Dave Eggers, co-founder, 826 National and ScholarMatch Darrell is a reflective, brilliant young man, who never thought of himself as a good student. He always struggled with his reading and writing skills. Darrell's father, a single parent, couldn't afford private tutors. By the end of middle school, Darrell's grades and his confidence were at an all time low. Then everything changed. When education journalist Kristina Rizga first met Darrell at Mission High School, he was taking AP calculus class, writing a ten-page research paper, and had received several college acceptance letters. And Darrell was not an exception. More than 80 percent of Mission High seniors go to college every year, even though the school teaches large numbers of English learners and students from poor families. So, why has the federal government been threatening to close Mission High -- and schools like it across the country? The United States has been on a century long road toward increased standardization in our public schools, which resulted in a system that reduces the quality of education to primarily one metric: standardized test scores. According to this number, Mission High is a "low-performing" school even though its college enrollment, graduation, attendance rates and student surveys are some of the best in the country. The qualities that matter the most in learning -- skills like critical thinking, intellectual engagement, resilience, empathy, self-management, and cultural flexibility -- can't be measured by multiple-choice questions designed by distant testing companies, Rizga argues, but they can be detected by skilled teachers in effective, personalized and humane classrooms that work for all students, not just the most motivated ones. Based on four years of reporting with unprecedented access, the unforgettable, intimate stories in these pages throw open the doors to America's most talked about -- and arguably least understood -- public school classrooms where the largely invisible voices of our smart, resilient students and their committed educators can offer a clear and hopeful blueprint for what it takes to help all students succeed.

Download or read book Implement Improve and Expand Your Statewide Longitudinal Data System written by Jamie McQuiggan and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2014-01-28 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Step-by-step guidance for implementing an effective statewide longitudinal data system Every U.S. state faces challenges in its efforts to ensure the highest-quality education for students. To address these challenges, a growing number of states are establishing statewide longitudinal data systems (SLDSs), a data-rich system integrating relevant data about a student's education. Implementing Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems for Education presents a detailed and contextualized discussion of SLDSs, which will serve as a recipe for states that want to implement an SLDS, develop design and enactment of new and existing SLDS systems, addressing implementation, operation and optimization. Provides a contextualized discussion of the history and purpose of SLDSs Describes how to plan for and implement an SLDS, including best practices regarding data governance, standards and privacy Discusses proven methods of data management, and details the two most popular methods of database architectures used for SLDSs Provides 5 case studies of states successfully using SLDSs Offers suggestions for expansion and inclusion of new datasets over time This essential book addresses the culture of data concept, providing a guide for states to usher in a new era in their education system where data is invaluable and used by everyone, not simply the newest version of the old system. A robust LDS initiative includes linked student records, teacher records, test scores, course selection, finances, certifications, licensure, salary and more. Concluding with a discussion of the potential future uses of SLDS, this book is the ultimate guide to SLDS implementation and understanding.

Download or read book What works in early grade literacy instruction written by Jennae Bulat and published by RTI Press. This book was released on 2017-02-28 with total page 47 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the past decade, RTI International has pursued the goal of quality, inclusive, differentiated early grade literacy instruction in nearly 30 early grade reading or early grade literacy programs in low- and middle-income (LMI) countries. Across our diverse portfolio, we have supported Ministries of Education (Ministries) in diverse contexts in their development and implementation of research-based early grade literacy programs and have learned important lessons based on our experience working with Ministries to design, develop, and implement early grade literacy programs. This paper describes the core elements that we have found to improve early grade literacy instruction and learner outcomes: the approach to teaching (Teach), the availability of quality, relevant learner materials (Text), the effective use of instructional time (Time), the use of formative assessment to guide instruction (Test), and provision of instruction in the most effective language (Tongue). This paper focuses on the acquisition of literacy in alphabetic and alphasyllabic languages in the early primary years (most typically, academic levels 1 through 3) and the kinds of exposures, instruction, and support learners need to become fully literate. These are the elements of a literacy program that can be taught, that should be present in teaching and learning materials and in teacher trainings, and that relate specifically to what happens in a classroom Many more factors contribute to literacy acquisition. However, we focus on the core elements in this paper to delve deeper and facilitate a richer discussion about these components. No one-size-fits-all approach to the development and implementation of literacy programs exists; the local context and constraints of any implementation can require adaptation and adjustments. In many cases, the fully diversified approach to early grade literacy instruction described in the classroom scenario has not yet been achieved. However, we hope that this compilation of lessons learned and best practices achieved through our experiences will help to further the efforts of all to provide high-quality, effective literacy instruction to all learners, particularly those in LMI countries.