Community, School, and Classroom Factors



Community, School, and Classroom Factors

Xxxxxxxx R-X School District of the city of Xxxxxxxx, located in Scott County, Missouri is located approximately twenty five miles south of Cape Girardeau in Southeast Missouri. This area of the state is home to a lot of farms. According to the 2000 Xxxxxxxx city census the town is home to 21, 652 residents. Of those residents 79.8 % are considered white and 18% are black. There are 326.7 residents per square mile. Only 8% of the population has a bachelor’s degree and 67.3% of the population did not attend college at all. More than one in four (28.3%) do not have a high school diploma. The average household income is $38,000.

The Xxxxxxxx Public School population is 3, 710. Sixty two percent of the students are white, 35.6% are black, and 1.4% Hispanic. There are fourteen students per teacher, twenty students per classroom, and two hundred twelve students per administrator. The average teacher experience is thirteen years and 46.7% have a masters degree or higher. More than ninety seven percent of the teachers have a regular teaching certificate, while only 2.3% have a temporary or special assignment certificate. This comes to 98.6% of the classes being taught by highly qualified teachers. Fifty eight percent of high school graduates have taken the ACT, with an average composite score of 20.1 (only 25.5% score at or above the national average). Of the 2006 graduates 45.3% will go to a 4-year college while 26.2% will enter the work force.

The high school is a large campus composed of several buildings with a lot of outside space. The science building is new and large. The classroom is equipped with two white boards, two bulletin boards, a SMART board, and projector for computer and document camera. There are also two sets of laptops that are available for the classes. There is a semi new library that is well stocked. There is a large science lab shared with another classroom. There is less parent involvement than I’d hoped for.

The students have been allowed to choose their seating and choose their partners for the projects. If a partnership or seating arrangement isn’t working, it can be changed by the teacher. The main rule of the classroom is that there is no “non class” talking. This is so important since all of the information is new and complex.

Student Characteristics

The classes are composed of sophomores, with a mix of races. There is an overall even amount of females and males. In all six classes, there are only three students with IEPs. For the most part, the students look and act young, like the beginning/middle of puberty (ex. inability to focus). There is mix of intellect and ambition is varied as well. There are some students lacking in neither, both, or one or the other. There are many athletes in class (sports analogies work well). All students speak English. The only problems are trouble understanding Ebonics; those problems are few and are always resolved. There is a lot of the “rap” culture in class. Fortunately I have not seen any problems with racism. Class participation is usually voluntary, but it is usually the same students. The volunteers as well as the quiet students will be required to participate in class in some way.

Approaches to Learning

Based on the 2007 MAP scores for communication arts (56.4% at basic or below) and math (70.4% at basic or below) the following will be incorporated into teaching. For CA practice, the students will have a bi-weekly writing assignment on a biology topic (ex. essays or critiques of articles). For math, practice equations and percentages of topics in class will be included in assignments.

By making class more interesting (with demonstrations and discrepant events) or relatable to real life, the students who are struggling would possibly put more effort into the class, therefore raising their grade. By also including the concepts VARK (visual, auditory, reading, and kinesthetic) in the classroom it could help all the students learning styles. Using Constructivism in the classroom will also help students build, expand, and modify their knowledge. Motivating students in a variety of ways is important in the classroom as well.

Students Skills and Prior Knowledge

The students have very little lab experience and little experience with biology. Lab procedures will have to be carefully addressed. All topics, such as cells, will have to begin with the most basic knowledge since there has been little prior learning. I have spoken with my block IV teacher, the freshman teacher, and the school curriculum to learn that cells have not been a topic of the science these students have received in previous grades. The student’s skill and developmental levels in cellular biology is very low, so there will need to be repeated reviewing and comprehension checking.

Instructional Implications

The element of teaching that students seem to appreciate the most is when a teacher can give examples of what they are teaching as well as real life examples and analogies. Sports and shopping analogies are often good ways to connect with students. Especially for this area farming, hunting, and the outdoors are all good ways to connect school to life as well. Finding these common interests will be the best way to communicate information to the students.

Since 52.8% of the students are enrolled in the free or reduced lunch program, it would not be fair to assume that all students have a working computer, internet, or can afford extra materials for class. For this reason if any assignments require any of these, I will need to know that all students have access and availability to a computer at some point. That could be class time, study hall, after school; whatever is needed for the student. If doing a project, I will have to make sure that all students have access to materials at some point as well.

Sources used: dese.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download