Chicago Public School - Urban Education - Admission/Application Essay Example

CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL: STUDENT TEACHING AND LESSON PLAN INTRODUCTION There is a great need for improvement of the socio-economic status of urban students and their families from minority, diverse backgrounds. Towards this outcome, governmental legislation such as the No Child Left Behind Act, A Nation at Risk, and others are being implemented (Adams & Adams 4). In this paper, two questions will be answered on: Two important instructional strategies for the urban school environment; and the definition of Urban Education and the qualities essential for an urban teacher to be successful. Further, a mathematics lesson plan for Grade 5 will be presented. 1. Identify two strategies that you will use in order to ensure high achievement for your Chicago Public School (CPS) students. Explain how you will accomplish this. The cognitive needs of low-achieving urban children in the middle and upper grades of elementary school are significant. They are unable to process the material they read and have low retrieval skills. Additionally, teachers have to take into account cultural diversity and different age-groups in the same classroom (Thompson 460). To ensure high achievement among Chicago public school students, two effective strategies may be used. The first is the interactive instruction method. In this type of learning environment, the teacher’s role is primarily that of a coach or guide. Teachers using this type of instruction promote interaction between students and teacher, as well as among students. The teacher creates situations which will induce students to ask questions; the teacher will help the students to develop strategies for solving problems, and will ask the students to explain their answers, and discuss how they arrived at the solutions. Discussion of ideas and arguments among students, and with the teacher, as well as application and interpretations of the topic promotes a more comprehensive understanding of the topic chosen from the instructional unit designed by the teacher. Wiggins & McTighe (p.307) reiterate that teachers using the interactive method of instruction evaluate the student’s mastery of knowledge through discussions, tests and projects that require explanation and writing skills. This strategy is supported by a research study conducted by Smith et al (p.18) on the link between different forms of instruction and learning in 384 Chicago elementary schools. The evidence confirms that the extent of students’ learning in reading and mathematics is directly impacted by the nature of instructional approach used by teachers; and interactive teaching strategies resulted in more learning in both subjects, as compared to the traditional didactic instruction and review method. The second teaching strategy is the “authentic intellectual work” method. This technique using more in-depth teaching and highly demanding assessment leads to increased performance by students in the academic subjects. On the other hand, drill and practise oriented teaching strategies to increase standardized test scores does not lead to meaningful learning or lasting performance gains among students, state Wiggins and McTighe (p.309). Teaching to standards and developing complex assessments that comply with the standards, is the strategy to be adopted. Hence, the second strategy to be adopted, for ensuring high achievement among Chicago Public School students is: the “authentic instellectual work” method which consists of three main steps: construction of meaning through disciplined inquiry, original application of learning in authentic contexts, and finally explanation or justification of their work. In this strategy, the students should be asked to select a topic from the teacher’s list of suitable ideas. Then, they will be asked to develop a question on the topic, which needs investigation. Using the available resources such as the library, computer and textbooks, the students should find the required answer. Then, through class discussion and argument the students analyse the various aspects of the information, apply their learning to a practical context, and justify the significance of their work. Research evidence supports the “authentic intellectual work” strategy of classroom assignments in grades 3, 6 and 8, in writing and mathematics. The correlation between the nature of classroom assignments, the quality of students’ work and standardized test performance was observed. It was found that assignments calling for more authentic intellectual work helped to improve student scores on conventional tests such as Iowa Tests of Basic Skills in reading and mathematics, and in the Illinois Goals Assessment Programme in reading, mathematics and writing (Newmann et al 14-15). 3.A. What is your definition of “urban education”? What qualities or abilities are most important to possess in order to be successful? Urban education can be defined as the school system in urban areas which is attended mainly by children from innercity families living below the poverty line. In these multicultural schools with students speaking various languages, coming from deprived backgrounds, lacking parental support, and living in stressful, violent environments, the teacher is often unable to teach optimally because of the students’ preoccupation with issues other than their school work. Minority students from diverse backgrounds constitute over two-thirds of the students in the Chicago Public School system, as in most other urban districts. Hence “the poverty rates are well above those for the nation as a whole”, states Gruber (p.51). The high rates of disadvantaged children translates to poor overall performance at school as compared to national norms. Thus, the urban teacher has to address the situation, keeping in view the frequently dysfunctional, mostly single-parent families the students belong to. The urban teacher also has to balance several tasks at the same time; and may be required to make urgent decisions, deal with day-to-day bureaucracy, besides working at a frequently thankless and very public job. Additionally the urban teacher has to cope with “having few resources, little control over curriculum and pedagogical decisions, and working in dilapidated buildings” (Adams & Adams 3). In view of the poor school conditions and the underlying problems of the diverse student population, the urban teacher needs to have specific skill sets besides specialized teaching abilities to overcome the mental resistance, indiscipline and distracted behaviour displayed by the students. Dedicated teachers should have empathy for, and respect the children and youth in their classrooms. Teachers would need to communicate effectively, establish a rapport with the students, and be willing to devote additional time to talk productively on issues concerning them. They should have a vision of social justice and equal opportunities for the minority students, and a mission to make a difference in the students’ lives. Besides the requirement for high levels of communication skills, the ability to maintain discipline and ensuring the students’ willing cooperation are vital for urban teachers. They convey their unwavering faith and high expectations of the students, inspiring them and instilling confidence in them. The teachers help the children realise the need for academic achievements to ensure progress and prosperity in their lives; and would play a parental guiding role for the children from homes lacking a normal, nurturing environment. Solomon & Sekayi (p.15) reiterate that some personal qualities of urban teachers include patience, flexibility, a sense of humor and friendliness, besides high energy levels. Further, the teachers have to be able to communicate with parents, as well as with the relevant authorities on modification of curriculum and the need for improved teaching resources and facilities. They should also have the skills to handle various types of tasks including bureaucratic hurdles with speed and efficiency. According to Solomon & Sekayi (p.15), urban teachers should ensure social justice and social capital for students from diverse low-income communities through achieving distributive justice giving equality of access to resources, and cultural justice for equality of opportunities. MATHEMATICS FOR GRADE 5 SAMPLE LESSON PLAN FOR INTRODUCING FRACTIONS SUMMARY Through an interactive instructional approach, students of Grade 5 learn what fractions are, and to identify fractions in everyday life. They apply their knowledge to identifying fractions, and further develop their skills through critical thinking activities designed for thorough comprehension of the mathematical concept. Total time: 55 minutes. STUDENTS’ LEARNING OUTCOMES Students are able to identify fractions in everyday life. Students understand and apply basic concepts of fractions. Students understand types of fractions. TEACHING/ LEARNING ACTIVITIES 1. CLASS DISCUSSION The teacher writes various fractions on the blackboard, and explains about fractions in everyday life. Explains the numerator and the denominator in a fraction. A class discussion on fractions in everyday life. What are fractions used for? A fraction is a number that denotes a part of a whole. For example, half a box of marbles would mean one part of two parts which form the entire number of marbles in the box. That is, after counting the total number, one half of the amount would be written as ½ or half the number of marbles. Similarly, one-third of a pie would mean one piece out of three equal divisions of the pie. Half an apple would mean one out of the two halves the apple is divided into. Thus fractions also represent the size or proportion of an item. Students explain where they can find fractions in their environment: for example in cooking, or measuring. Students study their class Time-Table, to determine the fraction of time they spend for various classes during a school day. Similarly, in their home environment, what fraction of the day is spent in playing, sleeping and other activities. Activity: The teacher distributes small mixed bags of blackberries, grapes and cherries to the students. Each student is asked to state the fraction of cherries to all the fruit in the bag, and similarly the fraction of each of the other fruit to the whole amount. Materials Used: Blackboard and chalk piece, any items in the classroom that can be used as examples. Bags of mixed fruit. 2. STUDENTS APPLY THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF FRACTIONS The teacher gives the students a worksheet with word problems involving fractions for the students to solve. Example: Jenny had six pieces of candy. She gave one each to her five friends. What fraction of the candy did Jenny keep for herself? Materials Used: The worksheets prepared by the teacher, pencils and erasers. Another paper activity is a fraction hunt game, using sentences involving fractions. Correctly identifying the letters would lead to finding the answer. The first one to complete this activity and the worksheet above can be given a small reward. In the following game, the teacher should explain to the students that each word consists of a certain number of letters. For example, in the word GAME, there are 4 letters. The first ½ (fraction) of the word GAME is GA (which is first 2 letters out of 4). In the sample quiz given below, in the word “real” there are 4 letters. So, the FIRST ¾ of the word “real” consists of the letters REA (3/4 means 3 letters out of 4). Similarly, the word “stand” is made up of 5 letters. The LAST 1/5 of the word “stand” is the letter D. (Here 1/5 means 1 letter out of 5). Then, by adding REA with D, the first word of the answer to the quiz is READ. The student should proceed to find the fractions of the words in the remaining two lines, according to the fraction clues. Example: The first ¾ of real and the last 1/5 of stand The first 1/6 of travel and the first 2/3 of hen The last ¼ of crib and the last ¾ of look (The answer when the letters are added together is: READ THE BOOK). Materials Used: The worksheets prepared by the teacher, pencils and erasers. The teacher presents in the worksheets some more of this type of word-fractions quiz, so that the children can further enjoy this game of searching for the fractions of words. 3. STUDENTS UNDERSTAND AND IDENTIFY THE TYPES OF FRACTIONS The teacher writes on the blackboard, explaining to the students about fractions being of three different types. Example: The teacher writes a Proper Fraction such as 2/5 on the board, then an Improper Fraction such as 11/ 4 below it, followed by a Mixed Fraction such as 41/2 (four and a half) below it. Next to each fraction, she writes the definition of the term: Proper Fractions: The numerator is smaller than the denominator. Improper Fractions: The numerator is larger than the denominator. Mixed Fractions: Mixed fractions have a whole number and a fraction. The teacher asks students to give examples of the different types of fractions, orally. The teacher distributes worksheets having a list of fractions of different types. The students individually write in the worksheets, identifying the types of fractions. Materials Used: Blackboard, worksheets, pencils and erasers. ----------------------------------- WORKS CITED Adams, Kathy L. & Adams, Dale E. Urban education: A reference handbook. California: ABC-CLIO Publishers. (2003). Gruber, Jonathan. The problems of disadvantaged youth: An economic perspective. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. (2009). Newmann, F., Brik, A. & Nagaoka, J. Authentic intellectual work and standardized tests: Conflict or coexistence? Chicago: Consortium on Chicago School Research. (2001). Retrieved on 16th February, 2010 from: http://ccsr.uchicago.edu/publications/p0a02.pdf Smith, J., Lee, V. & Newmann, F. Instruction and achievement in Chicago elementary schools. Chicago: Consortium on Chicago School Research. (2001). Retrieved on 16th February, 2010 from: http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/1a/8a/2d.pdf Solomon, Patrick & Sekayi, Dia N. Urban teacher education and teaching: Innovative practices for diversity and social justice. New York: Routledge. (2007). Thompson, Walter E. A practitioner’s perspective on the Chicago Mastery Learning Reading Programme with learning strategies. In Judith W. Segal, Susan F. Chipman and Robert Glaser (Eds.).Thinking and learning skills: Relating instruction to research. New Jersey: Routledge. (1985): pp.459-472. Wiggins, Grant P. & Tighe, McTighe, Jay. Understanding by design. Edition 2. The United States of America: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). (2005). Read More