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Tools for Great Teachers: www.toolsforgreatteachers.com
Hallsville ISD: www.hisd.com
White Oak ISD: www.woisd.net
EQUITY AND EXCELLENCE:INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY IN SMALL
RURAL SCHOOLS
TEAM MEMBERS
From Tools for Great Teachers: Kathy McConnell Fad and Paula Rogers
From Hallsville ISD: Stacey Perkins, Kelly Graff, Toni Erickson, and
Paula Rogers
From White Oak ISD: Nina Peery, Pam Cranford, Claire Koonce, and
Danieli Parker
Definitions vary but some examples are:
Communities with fewer than 2,500 people (U.S. Census Bureau)
Schools with fewer than 600 students (U.S. DOE)
Towns with fewer than 25,000 residents (Advocates)
WHO’S RURAL?
More than one in five students in the U.S. attends a rural school.
More than one-half of all school districts are in rural areas.
More than one-third of all public schools are in rural areas.
While overall enrollment in public schools grew about one percent from 2002 to 2005, rural student enrollment grew 15 percent.
National Center for Educational Statistics: http://nces.ed.gov
Rural Schools and Community Trust: http://files.ruraledu.org
Education Week: Rural Education: http://wwwledweek.org
WHY FOCUS ON RURAL SCHOOL ISSUES?
Large urban school districts often set the tone for education initiatives and are the
impetus for government policies, but small rural districts educate their students without benefit of the same financial
support, community partnerships, technological resources, and geographical
advantages.
WHY FOCUS ON RURAL SCHOOL ISSUES?
Many rural areas face serious educational issues like:
Concentrated poverty
Difficulty recruiting and retaining teachers and principals
Lack of or limited Internet access
Limited secondary coursework options (e.g., AP, IB classes)
Less funding than urban areas
Shrinking tax bases
“Brain Drain”
WHY FOCUS ON RURAL SCHOOL ISSUES?
WHY FOCUS ON RURAL SCHOOL ISSUES?
In addition, there are challenges facing the many rural public schools in Texas that are a result of decisions made at the state level. For example:
Texas ranks 47th of the 50 states in per student spending in public schools, more than $3,000 below the national
average.
Texas has both the lowest number and the lowest percentage of children without health care coverage.
Since drastic budget cuts to public education in the last legislative session, more than 30,000 public education jobs
have been lost.References: Dallas Morning News, retrieved on February 22, 2013
.http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com
National Education Association database
Even so, rural schools also have some important advantages like
Strong community support
Close links to community employers
Educators willing to “try anything” Instructional Technology!!
WHY FOCUS ON RURAL SCHOOL ISSUES?
In this discussion, we will focus on sub-populations in small rural schools….groups
that can be most significantly and positively impacted by
instructional technology.
1. Students with disabilities.2. Sub-groups who feel the effects of
rural school issues more keenly: Economically disadvantaged students, second language learners, and students isolated from opportunity by geography.
INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY IN RURAL SCHOOLS
PRIORITY 1: STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
Hallsville ISD focuses on including students with disabilities in general education through a
co-teaching model. Students are educated with their non-disabled
peers in general education classrooms.Both a general education and special education
teacher are in the classroom and work as partners.
Students have the advantage of highly qualified teachers who are experts in differentiation and who consistently respond to individual needs.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES IN INCLUSIVE SETTINGS IN SMALL RURAL SCHOOLS
Utah’s co-teaching handbooks has a great definition of co-teaching.
“Co-teaching is the instructional arrangement in which a general education
teacher and a special education teacher deliver core instruction along with
specialized instruction, as needed, to a diverse group of students in a single
physical space. Co-teaching partnerships require educators to make joint
instructional decisions and share responsibility and accountability for
student learning.”
DEFINITION OF CO-TEACHING
Because co-teaching requires a commitment of personnel and resources,
which are often limited in small rural schools, teachers have to make the most of
what they have. This is where instructional technology comes into play. IT can make all the
difference for students and their teachers.
CO-TEACHING IN SMALL RURAL SCHOOLS
PRIORITY 2: SPECIFIC SUB-POPULATIONS OF STUDENTS
For economically disadvantaged students, second language learners, and rural
students with limited opportunities due to geography, lack of exposure and
experience can result in long term educational disadvantages.
While instructional technology can’t erase the impact of the risk factors, using
instructional technology can make a big difference in foundational skills like
Academic Vocabulary.
AT RISK SUB-GROUPS IN SMALL RURAL SCHOOLS
Academic vocabulary refers to the words associated with the content knowledge. Within every discipline there is a specific set of words to represent its concepts and
processes. These words are conceptually more complex than everyday language;
therefore, they are more difficult to learn.
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
A student’s depth of word knowledge within a discipline, or academic
vocabulary, relates to success in that subject (National Institute for Literacy,
2007). To learn specialized words, such as the
vocabulary of science, students must know the content associated with the word
(Armbruster, 1992; Graves & Penn, 1986).Source: Sage Publications
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
Vocabulary knowledge has been identified as the most important indicator of oral
language proficiency, which is particularly important for the comprehension of both
spoken and written language. In addition, general vocabulary knowledge
is the single best predictor of reading comprehension. The interdependence of
word knowledge and reading comprehension increases as students
advance through school.
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
Many low income children and English language learners have limited word
knowledge, which negatively affects their reading comprehension in the upper
elementary and middle school grades. As early as the first grade, children from
higher income families know at least twice as many words as children from less
affluent families.
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
As students advance in grade level, the materials they read become more difficult, and students who lack academic language can neither access nor comprehend these
texts.In addition, children who are learning
English often enter kindergarten lagging behind their English-only peers in the skills
necessary to start reading, with the gap remaining throughout their school years.
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
This literacy gap is rooted in children’s early experiences at home and at school.
Both the quality of children’s oral language experiences at home and the quality of vocabulary instruction in school have
lasting consequences that contribute to the gap.
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
Many students acquire academic background knowledge outside of school and come to subject-area classes already
knowing and using terms essential for understanding content.
For example, they or their families may have traveled extensively, exposing them to
a variety of individuals, experiences, and cultures.
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
Such students commonly take part in conversations at home that include information that will be useful to them in school. They have incidentally gained the academic background knowledge they need to succeed in school.
By contrast, students from families with fewer resources or who live in rural areas lack such opportunities and, thus, have not incidentally acquired important academic background knowledge.
Source:
Effective Vocabulary Instruction. National Center for Reading First; Technical Assistance
Putting the Pieces of the Puzzle Together: How Systematic Vocabulary Instruction and Expanded Learning Time Can Address the Literacy Gap. White, and Kim, 2009, Harvard Graduate School of Education
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
One of the problems for students in rural areas is their lack of exposure to people,
places, and things outside of their community and, sometimes, outside of
their school.This is magnified for students who are
economically disadvantaged, have a disability, or are limited English speakers.
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
Hallsville ISD and White Oak ISD, like many other rural school districts, have
students who have …. Never eaten in a “sit down” restaurant
Never seen an escalator or been in an elevator
Never been to a store other than a convenience store, even stores within 10 miles of home
Never been to a public library, a museum, or a concert hall
Never gone swimming, hiking, skating, bicycling, fishing, or sledding
Never taken a family vacation or even a short trip
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
Instructional Technology, when used effectively and extensively, can bridge the
gaps the face students in small rural schools.
We will share examples and ideas with you so that you see the impact IT can have.
THE ROLE OF INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY
1. Parent and Administrator Support
2. Digital Responsibility
3. Blogging
4. Mobile Devices (QR codes; Nanos)
5. Software (Edmodo, , Moodle, etc.)
6. Continuing Education and Training
7. Communication (Skype, Twitter, etc.)
8. Students’ Attitudes Toward Technology
STRATEGIES AND RESOURCES YOU WILL SEE
AND HEAR