“At Risk” Students

1. “At Risk” Students In Service Teacher Workshop

2. Presented by: • Michelle Foreman • Stacey Shearer • Yuvia Henry

3. Purpose: • Teacher Awareness • Skill Development • Application of Skills

4. Who are “At Risk”? • “Students who have a high probability of failing to acquire minimal academic skills necessary for success in the adult world.”

5. Teacher Awareness: • Identifying the causes of “at risk” students • Socioeconomic factors (poverty or low income families, single –parent families, alcohol or drug use in families, absenteeism, lack of parental education, limited English proficiency, absence of parental supervision, large family size, homelessness, frequent housing relocations, etc…) • Low Academic performance • Children in foster care or those removed from their home by Child Protective Service

6. Recognizing “At Risk” Students • Educate America Act of 1994 identifies an at-risk student as: • a person under twenty-one years of age that faces a greater risk of low educational achievement or reduced academic expectations because of limited English proficiency, poverty, race, geographic location, or economic disadvantage. • Students who have EBD, PDD, ODD, ADHD/ADHD (inattentive type), psychosis, or those with severe medical conditions • Students who lack hygiene or appear malnourished

7. Purpose for Students • Develop skills and knowledge for success • Develop Intrinsic motivation • Become problem solvers • Become life-long learners • Achieve their personal potential

8. Goal • Help Students feel valued (respect, choices) • Satisfy basic needs (safety, love, self-esteem) • Promote responsibility • Make learning fun (actively, personal, enjoyable) • Help them become aware of their learning goals and evaluate their progress.

9. Motivating Students in the Classroom • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtIMpLbOxAA&NR=1

10. Skill Development for “At Risk” Students • Typically, at-risk students are held accountable for basic skills with integration into special programs and/or lower level tracks. • “By not challenging at-risk students or encouraging them to use complex thinking skills, schools underestimate students' capabilities, postpone interesting and meaningful work they could be doing, and deprive them of a meaningful context for learning…”

11. Statistics • 87% of students use the internet • Over 78% of students, in grades 9-12, use computers during school hours • Research has shown that integrating technology into the classroom can improve teacher-student relationships, both in qualitative and quantitative ways.

12. Meaningful Learning Experiences • A connection can be made between technology and at-risk students in school. • The combination of “technology and education reform will help students to develop higher order skills and to function effectively In the world beyond the classroom”.

13. Positives of Technology • Computers empower students • Technology presents material in small steps at various appropriate learning levels • Students can use technology independently and at their own pace.

14. Skills and Technology • Communication Skills • Word processing and Emails • Organizational Skills • Database and Spreadsheet programs • Math and Science Understanding • Modeling software

15. Steps to Take • As teachers, you can… • Promote a collaborative classroom atmosphere • Develop and implement activities that use technology tools • Collaborate with other teachers to design technology-related projects • Promote cooperative learning • Implement activities that allow all students to excel

16. Technology in the Classroom • Videos • Audio Files • Educational games • SMART Boards • Ipod Instruction • iTouch Flashcards • Science Tools • Health and Nutrition Tools • Geography • English (Reading)

17. School initiative • The goal is to “advocate, support and implement technological advancement for students and educators in the 21st century”. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMMnG_zJ6yk

18. What are the outcomes of “At Risk” Students? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM3jjLkparQ&feature=related

19. Childhood Poverty • is the biggest obstacle to the success for “At Risk” Students.

20. Basic Needs

21. Motivating “At Risk” students • Make them feel valued respected, choices • Satisfy basic needs (safety, love, self-esteem) • Make learning fun (personal, active, enjoyable) • Help them evaluate their progress. • Structure time wisely (Desk time, Transition) • Use students’ strengths to promote high self-esteem • Communicate high expectations for students’ performance( responsibility)

22. Promoting Self-Determination Strategies: • Present rules and instructions in an informational rather than controlling manner • Give students opportunities to make choices (individually or as a group) • Evaluate students’ performance in a non-controlling manner • Use extrinsic reinforces selectively

23. Promoting Self -Efficacy Strategies: • Teach basic skills • Use effort and achievement rubrics • Assure students they can be successful • Promote mastery or challenging tasks

24. Strategies that work • 1. Indentifying similarities and differences • 2. Summarizing and Notetaking • 3. Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition • 4. Homework and Practice • 5. Non-linguistic representations (Graphic organizers)

25. How do you know if they are learning? • Changes in participation • Improved grades • Changes in behavior

26. Motivating Students http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gISyrLJWbL0

27. Wanting to belong • http://www.iamsecond.com/#/seconds/Christian_Hosoi/

28. References: • http://www.childrenatrisk.org/ • Allen, T. (2010). iSchool initiative. Retrieved from https://www.ischoolinitiative.com/Home_Page.html • Apple. (2008). iPod touch. Touching student lives in the classroom. Retrieved http://edcommunity.apple.com/ali/story.php?itemID=16472 • at-risk. (2010). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.Retrieved June 8, 2010, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/at-risk • Byrnes, J. (2010). At-risk students. Retrieved from http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:GIhQGdwkxukJ:www.education.com/reference/article/at-risk-students/+effects+and+outcomes+of+at-risk+students&cd=8&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us • CARET (Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology). (2000). Topic: Student learning. Retrieved from http://caret.iste.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=answers&QuestionID=5

29. GenevaLogic. (2007). Classroom technology & teacher-student interaction. Retrieved from http://www.netop.com/fileadmin/netop/resources/products/education/vision/whitepapers/Vision6_Whitepaper_Classroom%20Management_EN_Print_NRB.pdf • Honey, M., & Spielvogel, R. (2005). Critical issue: Using technology to improve student achievement. In DOI: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Retrieved from http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te800.htm#type • Marzano, R. (2010). Representing Knowledge Nonlinguistically. Educational Leadership, 67(8), 84-86. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database. • Means, B. (1997). Critical issue: Using technology to enhance engaged learning for at-risk students. In DOI: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Retrieved from http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/atrisk/at400.htm • Whittenberg, J. F. (2010). At-risk children and adolescents. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/jwhtnbrg/atrisk-stude