School Models and UCAP Visit
We’ve had a chance to visit lots of schools this month, each has its own spin on things.
Some of the approaches to teaching that we’ve seen have been these:
Traditional/Lecture: Chances are that if you graduated from high school before the mid-2000s, this was likely the style of teaching you experienced. A teacher stands in the front and lectures, sometimes breaking to some activities (like worksheets or reading). This seems to still be the common way we’ve seen public high schools doing things. Typically reading and problem solving sets are assigned as homework.
Blended Learning: Combines computer-guided instruction with traditional teaching. A blended learning strategy we saw at Pleasant View Elementary was called “Three Station Rotation.” In this scheme students in a single class are broken into groups and rotate between traditional lectures, hands on or group activities, and computer learning (such as learning through a math game, etc.). A strength of this approach is that each station has a teacher or teaching aide, which creates a smaller virtual class, allowing each child to be helped and monitored more closely. Another benefit is that it employees multiple teaching strategies, which acknowledges that people learn in different ways. The challenge is having enough teachers and teaching aides to support it. We also visited Warwick Neck Elementary which didn’t have the same number of laptops or teaching aides, but had an effective two station rotation that encouraged creative skills via the computers in the classroom.
Flipped Learning: A form of blended learning that strongly shifts the emphasis away from lectures to computer-based learning. The idea is that students self learn via online lessons rather than having a teacher-lead lecture to initially introduce the concepts. Teachers, still an equally and as important player as traditional learning, simply have a different role: guiding hands-on work, answering questions, preparing the repertoire of lessons, and monitoring students progress so that they can be better helped. A strength of flipped learning is that students progress at a more natural and individualized paced, not forcibly moving on simply because the lecture needs to progress (and before they may have mastered the ideas/skills). A couple challenges to this are that schools are structured around age or grade-based learning (i.e. everyone is expected to be at a certain skill level based on how old they are, ignoring IEPs and special education needs at times), it requires a great deal of professional development for teachers and administrators to implement, and schools must have the technology infrastructure and know-how to support it (which isn’t cheap).
Of course, the style of instruction isn’t the only way to foster learning. On Monday, Jim Bowker of UCAP (Urban Collaborative Accelerated Program) invited us over to see what is going on there. UCAP is a school that helps middle-school aged kids that have repeated a grade catch-up so that they are ready for a traditional high school by 9th or 10th grade. The reason for this is that students that have repeated a grade prior to high school are statistically at risk of dropping out before getting their diploma. Getting support, such as attending a school such as UCAP, helps minimize this risk. From what we could tell, this was their strategy:
Create a fostering environment. What happens at home can very much impact a student’s progress in the classroom. UCAP can’t solve all those problems, but does its best by creating a welcoming environment (teachers go by their first names, class sizes are small) and families are engaged often (parents can visit classes, families are invited on field trips, UCAP has Lady - a staff member dedicated to parent outreach and communication)
An increased focus on core curriculum that is needed to succeed at the high school level, such as reading and math literacy. This came at the cost of classes such as art and music (which the students we met complained about this absence, although their website cites an art teacher as a member of the faculty). While we weren’t able to meet with the after school coordinator, it seems like UCAP stresses extracurricular activities provided by the school to fill this gap (in which community organizations/members help with).
Continuous improvement on curriculum. We spoke with Chris, the schools director of curriculum, on the importance of evaluating what is being taught with the staff. Stuff that isn’t working can be removed and new approaches can be employed rapidly.
Ultimately, the choice on the approach comes down to what teachers and administrators feel best works for their kids and what allows them to meet the current accountability standards (now: NECAP, next year: PARCC). It’s easy to see that it’s not always one-size fits all, but also that there are some really great approaches that schools are experimenting with -- and that is very exciting!
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