The Impact of the No Child Left Behind Act

The NCLB act has an impact on the way we teach because it makes teachers, schools, and districts accountable for every student. I am struggling with this right now. In my school we have AYP meetings after every grading period and it really makes you look at the students’ progress to see if they are making the bench marks. I have a least 5 students that are not and will probably not meet the reading and writing bench marks for the end of first grade. The reason for this is because they are second language learners but I know that I need to be accountable for every child in my classroom, but not every child is the same and there are so many outside reasons why kids do not succeed in school, why are we lumping all the scores and percentages into one to see that no child is left behind.

I agree that schools and districts should emphasize quality teaching rather than focusing primarily on credentials to make significant and long-term improvements (NCREL, 2005). Just having a credentials does not mean that the teacher will do what she needs to meet all the students needs to achieve and meet bench marks.

Parents need to be more proactive as well by helping their children at home. If parents read with the child every night that reinforces what we teach at school. I can tell whose parents are involved in their child’s education and those who aren’t.

Reference

U.S. Department of Education (2005, September 19) No Child Left Behind. Retrieved February 21, 2007, from http://www.nclb.gov

White House News Release (2005, January 12) Fact Sheet: No Child Left Behind-High Quality, High School Initiatives. Retrieved February 19, 2007, from http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/release/2005/01/print/2000501112-3.html

North Central Region Educational Laboratory. (2005) Implementing the No Child Left Behind Act: Teacher Quality Improves Student Achievement. Retrieved February 19, 2005, from http://www.ncrel.org/quality/qkey8/qkey8.pdf

Summary for Chapter 3, 4 & 5 Teaching for Understanding with Technology

Chapter 3 focuses on the generative topics that the teacher can chose from to develop a unit to teach for understanding. The feature of generative topics are; connect to multiple important ideas within and across subject matters, authentic, accessible and interesting to students, fascinating and compelling for the teacher approachable through a variety of entry point and generate and reward continuing inquiry (Wiske, et al., 2005). There is this great case study about first-second grade teacher who used a Quilt Math project to teach her students to learn how to use mathematics as a language for analyzing and predicting patterns in the world (Wiske, et al., 2005). Dr. Coffman directed me towards this site after the last posting on chapter 2 and when I looked at the site and the pictures and what the students had written I was so excited that I decided to try this Quilt Math idea in my classroom next year because I believe that students get more excited about learning when they can relate the subject to their own life and through inquiry, which this project does very well. The use of technology was another aspect that can help the students look deeper into their understanding and they were able to share it with family and other students. Teachers need to consider what resources are accessible to them and will be useful for the topic they have chosen.

In chapter 4 teachers need to have clear goals that focus on important understandings and then using new technologies to improve the teaching and learning of these educational goals (Wiske, et al., 2005). By using the water habitat project Kristi was able to cover various curriculum standards while her students understood the process of scientific method through reading, writing, observation and communication. The key points are that understanding goals focus on important, rather than trivial, aspects of the subject, target performance-based understanding (Wiske, et al., 2005). It was great reading about Kristi’s students and all the information gathering, analyzing, collaboration and communication going on between the students, community and global classmates. I was able to envision and relate to the students more easily because they are first-second grade students, which is what I teach. The teacher needs to revise the understanding goals according to the students’ needs and achievements. The careful selection of appropriate technology will achieve the most benefits for the students learning.

The key features of performance of understanding are for the students to develop and demonstrate understanding of target goals by using their minds to think beyond what they have been told, build understanding through a sequence of activities that gradually transfer autonomy and responsibility to learners (Wiske, et al., 2005). The teacher used guided inquiry to get the students to connect to the topic, “A Sense of Caring”. She drew upon their personal experiences to engage them in a deeper understanding of the topic. The activity required the students to be active and creative learners by creating and expressing their own ideas about the artwork to demonstrate their learning. Kristi’s “A Sense of Caring” project is amazing just to read and see how much her students were involved in the learning process of the curriculum as well as the use of different technology tools. I was a bit relief to learn at the end of the chapter that it took her a couple of years and a lot of collaboration to develop the project in full and it changes as she learns more about her students’ abilities and understanding. I think that the most important part of teaching for understanding if formulating a clear goal to focus on.

Reference:

Wiske, M. S., Franz, K. S., & Breit, L. (2005). Teaching for understanding with technology: Using new technologies to teach for understandings. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Chapter 10 Using Technology Appropriately

As educators we must make sure that we teach our students appropriate ways to gather information from various sources. It is our job to teach students that any information they get from the internet must be evaluated for accuracy, reliability, and current. Students should be taught early on about plagiarism and the proper way to cite other people’s work. If students are taught to synthesize information and construct their own answers and meanings, that temptation to appropriate others’ ideas as their own is minimized (Friel, 2001). Teachers and media specialist need to collaborate with each other to integrate site evaluation in the curriculum. We can censor the internet sites the students can use or view but ultimately we need to teach our students how to evaluate a website, so that they learn how to do it themselves. Educators must teach students the importance of citing all of their sources, no matter what the format (Friel, 2001).

As a first grade teacher I ask our school IT person about software that I would like to use in my classroom for the students use. I always stick to the rules so I try to stay up to date with what is appropriate for my students. I know that at the beginning of the school year when the school gave me my laptop I signed a (AUP) form. When I use the internet in my first grade classroom I always make sure the material is appropriate.
This chapter really got me thinking about the software that we use in our classroom because I know that other teachers purchase software on their own to use in the school computers. I need to find out what the school policy is on buying and loading personal software in school computers. I think that sometimes there is so much going in the schools that these technology policies are not shared with the entire staff, or maybe a paper is handed out about the policy but not explained.

Reference:

Friel, L. (2001). Using technology appropriately: Policy, leadership and ethics. In Collier, C. & LeBaron, J.F. (eds.). Technology in its place: Successful technology infusion in schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc.

Chapter 7 & 8 Summary

Chapters 7 and 8 Key Points Technology in its Place

Having the technology in the school and giving it to the teachers and staff will not achieve its purpose unless the principal becomes a leader. For the principal to be a good technology leader, he/she needs to have a team of leaders and supporters within the school and a vision for the integration and implementation of the technology. The strategies, plans, and budgets should be considered working drafts that are adjusted on current information and better thinking (Areglado & Perry, 2001). Active involvement allows principals to send the implicit and explicit messages that create a sense of urgency, guide the implementation strategy, and create change in the whole school (Areglado & Perry, 2001).

Politics is a part of the school systems and for schools to be able to have the technology to use within the curriculum they must acquire the funding and support of the communities, county and government. Politics is about building support. Involving everyone and maintaining people’s enthusiasm and a sense of urgency are critical (Zimmerman, 2001). The community needs to know that technology will not take the place of the teacher as a facilitator, the use of technology will enhance the curriculum that the student is learning and it will provide an added benefit in the student’s life learning skills.

These chapters made me think of teachers that have always taught a certain way and are not willing to modify or make changes to the way they teach. Then you add technology to the mix and they seem to shut down. For technology to become part of the school and classroom environment the leaders within the school must join together to lead the school staff in the integration and implementation of the vision created by the whole school staff. I believe that the only way to change people’s view about a technology is by educating them and showing them a practical ways to integrate technology within the curriculum. Expectations should be set high but not unreachable, so that small steps can give the staff encouragement to continue the integration process. Schools must demonstrate that the use of technology will be beneficial for the student now and in their future.



Reference:

Areglado, R.J. & Perry Jr., G.S. (2001). The computers are here!: Now what does the principal do?. In Collier, C. & LeBaron, J.F. (eds.) . Technology in its place: Successful technology infusion in schools. San Francisco, CA:Jossey- Bass Inc.

Zimmerman, I.K. (2001). Building public support: The politics of technologytransformation. In Collier, C. & LeBaron, J.F. (eds.). Technology in its place: Successful technology infusion in schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc.

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Teaching for Understanding with Technology

Chapter 1 What is Teaching for Understanding? and Chapter 2 Teaching for Understanding with Technology


Chapter 1 and 2 focus on explaining the process of teaching for understanding and how important it is to use in the classroom. New technologies offer significant potential for supporting this kind of teaching and learning (Wiske, et al., 2005). Teachers need to understand the framework behind it. There are five key features to the framework; generative topics, understanding goals, performance of understanding, ongoing assessment and reflective collaborative communities (Wiske, et al., 2005). If a teacher of school wants to use the framework, it does not need to be followed in order. Taking account of the key features of understanding goals assures teachers that their plans for integrating technology will advance students’ mastery of important curriculum objectives (Wiske, et al., 2005). Educators need to keep in mind that the main focus of the framework is the students’ understanding.

When I was reading this chapter I kept thinking about the way I teach and how my school is trying to use the ongoing assessment, understanding goals and reflective collaborative communities to enhance, improve, and change what we are teaching as well as how we are teaching. I teach first grade, so I teach for understanding not for memorization or the SOL’s. I teach the curriculum so that they understand the big picture. The only hard part is integrating technology within the framework of teaching for understanding. I have done some interactive activities with the smart board, but I really don’t think that is enough. I feel that sometimes it is a lot easier with the upper grades to establish methods of inquiry and reasoning, and asking questions because of their oral language.

Wiske, M. S., Franz, K. S., & Breit, L. (2005). Teaching for understanding with technology: Using new technologies to teach for understandings. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.