My initial reaction to reading the first 3 chapters of The Flat World and Education was sadness, frustration and confusion how the state of education could become so dysfunctional.
Darling-Hammond cites data on pupal expenditure, showing that $13,000 is spent on each student in New Jersey, while only $5,000 is spent in Utah. This seems to contradict the rights guaranteed by the 14th amendment, and unfortunately entire generations of students, specifically in low income neighborhoods have felt the full blow of this inequality. The lack of funding leads to lower teacher pay, leading to inexperienced teachers in the classroom, and less likelihood of successful learning. Sanders and Rivers' (1997) analysis showed that 3 consecutive years of poor language arts instruction led to a 50 percentile points difference in test scores compared to 3 years of quality instruction. When funds aren't there, classes are larger, inexperienced teachers fumble through their teaching and the student suffers in this enveloping cycle. As Darling-Hammond points out, everyone is concerned about the achievement gap, but little system wide supports are offered. As we continue reading and discussing I hope that we are shown some reforms that have been effective. From my perspective it definitely has to do with retaining quality teachers in schools that need the most support.
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Basic Sparks of Intrinsic MotivationAs an educator and nonprofit leader I'm concerned with access to external motivation. I believe this is the root of the achievement gap, and is perpetuated by the lack of resources and investment in those with the fewest external motivators, specifically undeserved students, minorities, and those struggling through poverty. My experience teaching in South Sacramento revealed how little outside support was offered to my students. Many lacked the resources and support commonly found in more affluent schools and neighborhood. I was blessed to support many of my students towards academic achievement, but also helped them navigate their life of poverty, violence, sexual assault, incarceration and hunger. Through my naturalistic research approach involving case studies, narratives and ethnography I hope to find the basic unit of intrinsic motivation that sustains successful students without resource or motivation from anyone but themselves. Through my nonprofit work with the incarcerated over the past 3.5 years, I've seen an environment unique to our society. The archaic practice of putting people in cages is still a reality for 2 million individuals in the United States. By researching the experience of CDCR inmates taking high school/GED classes in prison I hope to gather a mosaic of student experiences without resources, parental support, or the ability to apply education to a professional career (for inmates without parole). From this research the basic spark of intrinsic motivation may emerge. Answering the question, what drives students when most factors work against their success? In addition to literary review, I will compare these findings with research conducted at two schools where I formerly taught, my old South Sacramento school, and an affluent PBL-based school in Davis. I believe that motivation is the key to student success if resources are equal, comparing student motivation in these three different learning environments, may support pedagogy growth as educators, fostering intrinsic motivation from it's basic unit. I'd like to keep the prior paragraphs to note this larger idea for action research, but after the discussion at the 790 session 1, I've decided to research a different, smaller scale project. Within my nonprofit work, I run professional trainings to become yoga and meditation teachers working with trauma-sensitive populations. I will design action research that I can conduct on the 2 cohorts of 20 trainees each. Our program is highly academic with content standards, and formal assessment; I would still like to look into what motivates students, in terms of class format, project based learning, group dynamics and application of restorative practices. |
AuthorAs a teacher and community advocate I strive to remedy the challenges of adverse childhood experiences (ACE), poverty and violence. I'm intrigued by the motivation that is cultivated by different supportive and discouraging learning environment, and how overcoming the achievement gap can transform our society. Archives
July 2017
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