Enhancing School Improvement: Addressing Barriers to Learning and Re-engaging Students

1. A Graphic OverviewEnhancing School Improvement:Addressing Barriers to Learning and Re-engaging Students UCLA

2. We just missed the school bus. \ Don’t worry. I heard the principal say \ no child will be left behind. / UCLA

3. About this Resource This is part of a set of 7 power point sessions. For each session, there are also a package of handouts (online in PDF) that cover the material. Many of these handouts provide additional details on a given topic. UCLA

4. Feel free to use the power point slides and the handouts as is or by adapting them to advance efforts to develop a comprehensive system of learning supports. UCLA

5. Session Topics I. Why is a System of Learning Supports Imperative for School Improvement? II. What is a System of Learning Supports? An intervention perspective III. What is a System of Learning Supports? An infrastructure perspective UCLA

6. Session Topics IV. What is a System of Learning Supports? A policy perspective V. What’s Involved in Getting from Here to There? VI. Engaging and Re-engaging Students with an Emphasis on Intrinsic Motivation VII. Concluding Comments UCLA

7. Session I Why is a System of Learning Supports Imperative for School Improvement? UCLA

8. Topics Covered >Some Major Concerns >Lenses for viewing school improvement efforts >School improvement planning: What’s being done & what’s missing? UCLA

9. I. Why is a System of Learning Supports Imperative for School Improvement? Some Major Concerns UCLA

10. <><><><><><><><><> The current focus of school improvement policy and practice is too limited to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to succeed at school. <><><><><><><><><> UCLA

11. The limited focus contributes to: • High Student Dropout Rates UCLA

12. The limited focus contributes to: • High Student Dropout Rates • High Teacher Dropout Rates UCLA

13. The limited focus contributes to: • High Student Dropout Rates • High Teacher Dropout Rates • Continuing Achievement Gap UCLA

14. The limited focus contributes to: • High Student Dropout Rates • High Teacher Dropout Rates • Continuing Achievement Gap • So Many Schools Designated as UCLA

15. The limited focus contributes to: • High Student Dropout Rates • High Teacher Dropout Rates • Continuing Achievement Gap • So Many Schools Designated as Low Performing UCLA

16. The limited focus contributes to: • High Student Dropout Rates • High Teacher Dropout Rates • Continuing Achievement Gap • So Many Schools Designated asLow Performing • High Stakes Testing Taking its Toll on Students UCLA

17. The limited focus contributes to: • High Student Dropout Rates • High Teacher Dropout Rates • Continuing Achievement Gap • So Many Schools Designated as • Low Performing • High Stakes Testing Taking its Toll on Students • Plateau Effect UCLA

18. Some of the data: The dropout rate for our nation remains unacceptably high. In 2006, the Education Trust reported that nearly 25 percent of the ninth grade population will not end up graduating from high school. UCLA

19. Some of the data: Students are not the only ones dropping out of school. We are losing teachers at a rate of almost 1,000 a day. As the Alliance for Excellence in Education noted in 2005, many are not retiring; they are just leaving the profession. UCLA

20. Some of the data: Student achievement in core academic subjects, as reported in 2007 by the National Center for Education Statistics, shows far too many students are performing poorly. UCLA

21. Some of the data: Take reading levels as an example. Despite reports of small recent gains, most American students, across grade levels, are reading at the most basic levels and “only about 30 percent of high school students read proficiently and more than a quarter read below grade level.” UCLA

22. Some of the data: Other relevant data form the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) indicate that >the primary home language of almost 11 million children is not English >10 percent of public school students in kindergarten through grade 12 had been retained (i.e., repeated a grade since starting school), >11 percent had been suspended and 2 percent had been expelled (i.e., permanently removed from school with no services) UCLA

23. Some of the data: The NCES joins others is stressing that research suggests that growing up in poverty can negatively impact children’s mental and behavioral development as well as their overall health, making it more difficult for them to learn. UCLA

24. Some of the data: While it is a widely held belief that education should be a great equalizer, the U.S. Department of Education recognizes that, in large portion, children living in poverty attend schools that, at best, have marginal performance records. UCLA

25. Data from the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) clearly shows the plateau effect related to academic achievement. UCLA

26. Trend in NAEP reading average scores for 9-year-old students Trend in NAEP reading average scores for 13-year-old students See key on next slide

27. Key Original Assessment Format Revised Assessment Format See note below Trend in NAEP reading average scores for 17-year-old students * Significantly different (p < .05) from 2008. Note: The long‑term trend assessment was updated in several ways in 2004. Outdated material was replaced, accommodations for students with disabilities (SD) and for English language learners (ELL) were allowed, and administration procedures were modified. A special bridge study was conducted in 2004 to evaluate the effects of these changes on the trend lines. The study involved administering both the original and revised formats of the assessments to determine how the revisions may have affected the results.

28. I. Why is a System of Learning Supports Imperative for School Improvement? Three Lenses for Viewing School Improvement Efforts UCLA

29. Lens #1 = All Students Range of Learners I = Motivationally ready and able II = Not very motivated/lacking prerequisite skills/ different rates & styles/minor vulnerabilities III = Avoidant/very deficient in current capabilities has a disability and/or major health problems UCLA

30. Not some -- ALL youngsters are to have an equal opportunity to succeed at school UCLA

31. Lens # 2 = Barriers to Learning Categories of Risk-Producing Conditions that Can be Barriers to Learning >Environmental Conditions >Family >School and Peers >Individual UCLA

32. Examples ofEnvironmental Conditions • extreme economic deprivation • community disorganization, including high levels of mobility • violence, drugs, etc. • minority and/or immigrant status UCLA

33. Examples of Family Conditions • chronic poverty • conflict/disruptions/violence • substance abuse • models problem behavior • abusive caretaking • inadequate provision for quality child care UCLA

34. Examples of School & Peer Conditions • poor quality school • negative encounters with teachers • negative encounters with peers • inappropriate peer models UCLA

35. Examples of Individual Conditions • medical problems • low birth weight/neurodevelopmental delay • psychophysiological problems • difficult temperament & adjustment problems • inadequate nutrition UCLA

36. Barriers to Learning and School Improvement Range of Learners I = Motivationally ready and able Not very motivated/ lacking prerequisite II = skills/ different rates & styles/ minor vulnerabilities III = Avoidant/ very deficient in capabilities UCLA

37. Barriers to Learning and School Improvement Range of Learners Instructional Component Classroom Teaching + Enrichment Activity I = Motivationally ready and able Not very motivated/ lacking prerequisite II = skills/ different rates & styles/ minor vulnerabilities III = Avoidant/ very deficient in capabilities No barriers Desired Outcomes (High Expectations & Accountability) (High Standards) UCLA

38. Barriers to Learning and School Improvement Range of Learners Instructional Component Classroom Teaching + Enrichment Activity I = Motivationally ready and able Not very motivated/ lacking prerequisite II = skills/ different rates & styles/ minor vulnerabilities III = Avoidant/ very deficient in capabilities No barriers Desired Outcomes (High Expectations & Accountability) Barriers* To Learning, Development, Teaching (High Standards) UCLA

39. Caution: Don’t misinterpret the term >Barriers to learning It encompasses much more than a deficit model of students. UCLA

40. And, it is part of a holistic approach that emphasizes the importance of >Protective Buffers (e.g., strengths, assets, resiliency, accommodations) & >Promoting Full Development UCLA

41. Lens # 3 = Engagement & Disengagement Source of Motivation Extrinsics Intrinsics Intrinsics/ Extrinsics Engagement Intervention Concerns Disengagement (psychological reactance) UCLA

42. Engaging & Re-engaging Students in Classroom Learning How are schools >maximizing Intrinsic Motivation? >minimizing Behavior Control Strategies? UCLA

43. Motivation, and especially Intrinsic Motivation are fundamental intervention considerations related to student (and staff) problems UCLA

44. I. Why is a System of Learning Supports Imperative for School Improvement? School Improvement Planning: What’s Being Done & What’s Missing? UCLA

45. With all the budget problems, We have to do everything on a shoestring. \ \ Are you saying you \ still have a shoestring? / UCLA

46. School Improvement Planning: What’s Missing? UCLA

47. School Improvement Planning Missing: A Comprehensive Focus on: • Addressing Barriers to Learning & Teaching • Re-engaging Disengaged Students in Classroom Learning UCLA

48. This becomes evident when we ask: What do schools currently do to (1) address barriers to learning and teaching and UCLA

49. This becomes evident when we ask: What do schools currently do to (1) address barriers to learning and teaching and (2) re-engage students in classroom instruction? UCLA

50. How is the district/school addressing barriers to learning? Psychological Testing Clinic After-School Programs HIV/Aids Prevention Pupil Services Health Services Violence & Crime Prevention Talk about fragmented!!! Physical Education Special Education Health Education Nutrition Education Juvenile Court Services District School Lunch Program Community-Based Organizations Drug Prevention Counseling Mental Health Services Drug Services Social Services Pregnancy Prevention Codes of Discipline Smoking Cessation For Staff HIV/AIDS Services Child Protective Services UCLA