CONNECTIONS: CURRENT TRENDS, CHALLENGES, AND

ISSUES IN EDUCATION

Connections Between Globalization & Education

Below are my 5 connections starting with the most influential to the least:

1. No Child Left Behind2. Differentiated Instruction3. Student-Centered Learning4. Literacy Coaching5. Youth Dropout Rate

No Child Left Behind

NCLB was implemented with the hopes to improve student achievement and hold all involved more accountable.

An unsettling outcome of this act is high-stakes testing.

No Child Left Behind

This has become a controversial ISSUE due to increased focus on basic skills instead of meaningful, life-long learning.

Many educators

agree that this is

leaving more

students behind than

before NCLB was

implemented.

Some districts

refuse federal

funding rather than comply with NCLB

mandates

Teachers are “teaching to the

test”

No Child Left Behind

NCLB is extremely influential to students because it affects the progress and future of each student.

Ex. There is a female student at our school that does well in her high school classes. She made a 4 on her EOC. (Keep in mind that many teachers are teaching to the test for job security.) On the flip side, she failed all of her college classes she was enrolled in at the same time. She lacks the ability to be an active participant in her learning and it shows in her college classes.

Differentiated Instruction

To promote a high quality education teachers must produce a learning environment in which students want to learn. This means differentiating instruction to meet everyone’s needs.

A few ways to differentiate instruction:

• Give students choices• Create learning contracts• Provide learning centers• Provide a variety of resources/reading material about the topic

Differentiated Instruction

This is a growing TREND because our classrooms are more diverse than ever and youth dropout rates are not decreasing.

I ranked this as second most influential because differentiated instruction is the key to ensuring that you reach every child in that classroom.

Differentiated Instruction

I had a male student who came in my class with little intention of learning. Teachers previously had given up on him and it showed. It took me about two months to establish a good relationship with this young man and learn about his interests. Everything we did I somehow related it to sports and tweaked his assignments to follow suit. We also agreed to establish learning centers and he was in charge of the students in his center. I am proud to say that he succeeded in my class as well as on the EOC.

Student-Centered Learning

Student-centered learning is where students play an active role in their learning.

This is a CHALLENGE because of many reasons:

1.) student motivation2.) keeping students on task3.) how does one accurately assess

this process4.) NCLB focusing on the basic skills

Student-Centered Learning

There was a student in my class who had trouble with rote memorization. He had to perform hands on activities, write his thoughts in a learning log and then teach it to another student in the class. He was key in choosing these activities and he felt responsible not only for himself but for the students he was teaching.

Literacy Coaching

A current TREND that consists of someone providing professional development to teachers in efforts to help them improve their students’ abilities to read, write and succeed in that content area.

Rated 4th because in

theory, it is a great

concept but it is very

difficult to take an 11th

grader who is reading &

writing on a 7

th grade

level up to proficient

standards in one year.

Literacy Coaching

We have an awesome literacy coach but as I said earlier, it is difficult to correct a problem that has been ongoing in a short amount of time.

There was a student this year that could not read or write sufficiently. We worked with him extensively and he did improve but he was still not on grade level by the end of the year.

These literacy

problems do not

accumulate in one year

and they are not going

to fixed in one year.

Youth Dropout Rate

The number of youth dropping out of high school is alarming.

WHY???????????

Feel alienated

due to cultural

differences

Struggle with the

transition to high school

Lack of diverse

teaching

Youth Dropout Rate

This is an ISSUE because the national high school graduation rate is estimated to be between 75 – 78%

High school dropouts earn

46% than college educated adults

Youth Dropout Rates

I rated this last, not because I think it is any less influential than the others, but because if the previous topics are addressed then the dropout rate would decrease

We cannot fix th

e

dropout rate until

we address WHY

they are dropping

out!

References

Duffy, M., Giordano, V.A., Farrell, J.B., Paneque, O.M., & Crump, G.B. (2008). No Child Left

Behind: Values and Research Issues in High-Stakes Assessments. Counseling &

Values, 53(1), 53-66.

Gross, P.A. (2010). Not Another Trend: Secondary-Level Literacy Coaching. The Clearing

House, 83, 133-137. doi: 1080/00098651003774844

Kellough, R., & Kellough, N. (2011). Secondary School Teaching: A Guide to Methods and

Resources. Retrieved from the University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.

References

Logan, B. (2011). Examining differentiated instruction: Teachers respond. Research In

Higher

Education Journal, 13, 1-14.

Pederson, S., & Liu, M. (2003). Teachers’ Beliefs about Issues in the Implementation of a

Student-Centered Learning Environment. Educational Technology Research and

Development, 51,(2), 57-76.

Rouse, C., & Kemple, J.J. (2009). Introducing the Issue. Future Of Children, 19(1), 3-15.