Shared Vision: Focus on Achievement

George Washington Carver, a native of Missouri with many obstacles to overcome stated, “Where there is no vision, there is no hope.” It is my belief that vision for improving student achievement is embedded in hope for the future. This vision should be shared in every component in our instructional structure and the aim will be to enhance teaching, learning, and engaging all stakeholders in our district and the community with the knowledge and understanding of the district’s vision and mission. Peter Senge stated, “A shared vision is not an idea…. it is rather, a force in people’s hearts, a force of impressive power.” The concept of vision in organizations has almost become commonplace. Every organization has to have a vision and mission statement. Most visions, however, are not shared visions. They are imposed on others by the head of the organization or a group of people at the top. These visions are not very effective long-term because they “command compliance – not commitment” Senge ,1990.

           
              It is our hope for the future that our school leadership structure focus on enhancement of teaching, learning, and assessment of students and teachers.  The aim is to improve quality and delivery of classroom instruction and enhance student achievement, and in addition, to engage all members of the community in the vision and mission. According to Senge (1990), a shared vision incorporates individual visions, inclines commitment, and focuses on energy. When people truly share a vision, they are connected, bound together by a common aspiration…. Shared visions derive their power from a common caring.” Shared visions bind people through a common aspiration.

There is reason to believe that shared visions evolve in part because of a strong underlying need for people to be connected in achieving some common goal. Few, if any, forces in human affairs are as powerful as shared vision. 

The relationship between curriculum, vision, and discipline is of paramount importance. If a child attends two years of pre-school, nine years of elementary, four years each at high-school and college, it will total nineteen years. If we multiply this with the average six-hour day, thirty-hour week, or twelve-hundred-hour year, we derive a sum of 22,800 hours.  If we also realize the relationship between academic achievement and economic possibilities, it may behoove us to critically assess what takes place in the classroom. Virtually every national standard and state framework calls for fundamental changes in what teachers teach and how content is organized (curriculum), how they teach (instruction), and how student learning is monitored, evaluated, and reported (assessment).

I believe “A Relevant Curriculum,” is essential to maintain students curiosity and enthusiasm from the primary grades through college and the relationship between thinking skills, high expectations, self-images and discipline. Current standards are based on the premise that learning is something that students do, not something that is done to them. Standards set the stage to establish an active learning process in which students describe objects and events, ask questions, formulate explanations, and communicate their ideas to others. In this way, students build strong knowledge of content, apply that knowledge to new problems, learn how to communicate clearly, and build critical and logical thinking skills. Standards and assessments define learning and how parents and members of a community determine whether students have mastered the standards. Standards identify what we expect students to know and be able to do, expose students to selected content, and develop skills we expect them to acquire as well as expose the intellectual qualities and habits of mind we expect them to develop. The content standards describe the knowledge and abilities students need to develop, from kindergarten through high school, in order to become scientifically literate.

Assessment linked to specific standards define the various ways students demonstrate that they posses the knowledge and skills the standards demand. The results usually indicate the extent of progress students and teachers have made towards meeting the standards. Emphasis should be focused on the instructional strategies that will be student centered and teacher driven to improve student performance. If educational reform does not reach the classroom level, then there will be no chance in improving the potential for achievement. 

References

Kunjufu, J. (1984) Developing Positive Self-Images and Discipline in Black Children. Chicago, Illinois: African American Images

Senge, P. M. (1990). The fifth discipline. New York: Doubleday.

Submitted to Missouri School Boards’ Association

For Advanced Board Member Certification

Dr. Edward Haynie

E-mail: ehaynie@normandy.k12.mo.us

E-mail: ehaynie@charter.net

When Should Science Instruction begin and How Long Should it Continue?

Every student should study a meaningful amount of science every year, beginning in kindergarten, or even earlier, and continuing until high school graduation. That is the consensus emerging from major studies of science education. 

Reality, however, is far from this ideal. In most elementary schools, science receives considerably less attention than reading, writing, and mathematics. In kindergarten through grade three, less than 20 minutes daily is spent on science, on average; in the upper elementary grades, the average is about half an hour. The underlying message is that science is not all that important. 

Research has found a positive relationship between the amount of science instruction students receive in elementary school and their participation and achievement in science courses in sec­ondary school. Building on this notion, most people who have studied the issue strongly recommend that science be treated as a genuine "basic" in the elementary school curriculum and thereafter. Some groups have proposed specific amounts of time for science at different levels of schooling.

It is not just a question of the amount of science, but also of the quality of instruction. While the presence of active, high-quality science education in the formative years will not ensure that all students become scientifically literate, experience suggests that its absence is even less likely to fulfill this goal. Good science teaching and learning in elementary schools does not require expensive and complicated equipment, just a teacher with the imagination to design simple and concrete experiments that will "hook" children in the active pursuit of scientific knowledge

At the middle school level, students need instruction that links the concrete learning they acquired in elementary school with the more abstract concepts and critical thinking demands of high school science. They also benefit from instruction that emphasizes the personal, career, and social uses of science, builds on their growing need for independence; and takes into account special concerns of adolescents, such as human development.    

At the high school level, it is critical that all students receive quality science courses. Particular attention should be paid to students who have been underrepresented in science, including girls, ethnic-minority students, and students pursuing vocational studies. Regardless of gender, demographics, social group, or career aspirations; all students will be better prepared for the future as a result of the thinking skills and habits of mind that the study of science builds.

        Science learning does not end with formal schooling. The need for scientific literacy among all citizens suggests that the nation should embrace the concept of lifelong learning in science. However, while many education options exist for adults who need to upgrade specific technical and job-related skills, there are far fewer opportunities for those who wish to gain a deeper understanding of science.

Students' Attitudes and Perceptions about Science Affect Learning Science

Attitudes and perceptions about science are powerful motivators working for or against student achievement. According to research, students who enjoy science are more apt to do well and take advanced courses.  Similarly, students who dislike or fear science and doubt their own competencies are more likely to do poorly and boycott science altogether by late high school.           

Negative attitudes about science are learned, not inherited. Any parent can describe the delight little children take in observing the world around them and experimenting with its limits.  Yet somewhere in the elementary grades, these positive attitudes wither or find outlets apart from the subject in school called "science."  By the end of third grade, almost half the students in one survey said they would not like to take science, and by the end of eighth grade, only one-fifth had positive attitudes toward science.  Enthusiasm about science—and with it confidence—tends to dwindle as students progress through school. 

Several incorrect or damaging perceptions can fuel negative attitudes about science.  One is that success in science stems from innate ability more than from effort, and that some students are just not cut out for this "hard" subject.  This attitude is particularly pernicious for girls and minority students.  Another is that scientists—and top science students—are eccentrics or "nerds."  Some students show indifference to science to keep their status with peers who do not view science achievement as "cool."                  

How do attitudes and perceptions about science take root? Often they grow out of explicit or subliminal messages students pick up in and out of school, from teachers, peers, parents, books, the media, and authority figures.  Students can sense if teachers or parents themselves are insecure with science. Sometimes parents or teachers developed negative attitudes about science when they were young, because they were taught by traditional methods that dampened their interest.               

The methods by which science is taught in most schools continue to affect student attitudes today.  In one survey, 21 percent of students cited teachers as the reason they liked science; on the flip side, one-third cited instructional factors—such as too much lecturing—as reasons they disliked science.  When science is taught as a tedious inventory of facts and theories, it is no wonder students begin to perceive science as dull and complicated.

In addition, instruction that overemphasizes competition can produce early experiences of failure, which in turn can breed a dislike for science and a lack of confidence about future success. Similarly, teachers may subtly transmit their expectations about what students can and cannot do so that students internalize them.      Negative attitudes can have long-term consequences, such as students foreclosing their options in a subject they believe they have little hope of mastering anyway. The good news is that attitudes can be changed through teacher and parent modeling and through more engaging instruction.

ENGAGING STUDENTS IN SCIENCE RESEARCH

Haynie, E. (2000) “Engaging Students in Science Research” The Science Teacher, 67(3), 8

Connecting the classroom to scien­tific research can help students de­velop conceptual understanding, yet this approach is generally not used in secondary education, perhaps be­cause it is uncommon for teachers to have formal training in incorporating scientific research into the classroom. The National Science Education Standards (National Research Coun­cil, 1996) provides guidelines for teaching students scientific research. A teacher specializing in high school science education generally receives some training in methods but very little direct experience with the sci­ence research process.

To build their knowledge base and acquire an understanding of sci­ence research, teachers should be well acquainted with resources such as curricular materials, technology, community resources, professional colleagues with special expertise, and instructional resources.

Science research-based learn­ing means observing and experiment­ing with the materials and processes of the natural world. Teaching re­search-based activities is demanding but worthwhile because the students involved have to take an active role in their own learning. Rather than the teacher telling the students what they must learn, the teacher sets up an environment in which students can actively acquire knowledge, mainly through experimenting. The teacher engages students in problem solving by asking probing questions, promot­ing inquiry, and guiding discussion.

Involving students in indepen­dent science research benefits them because such work builds their self confidence and helps them develop critical thinking skills. The discussion and exploration involved in scientific research enhances students' organi­zational skills. This work also stimu­lates and motivates students' natural curiosity in a context that makes sci­ence relevant to their lives. In addi­tion, science research facilitates learn­ing experiences that help restructure students' existing knowledge and build new knowledge and skills.

Many new curricular and in­structional models are being devel­oped and implemented as the United States moves toward educational re­form in the science classroom. Scien­tific research-based learning is an in­novative curricular and instructional strategy that provides the framework for implementing the science stan­dards as students experience being apprentice scientists.

The ultimate goal of science education is to develop scientific at­titudes, knowledge, skills, and pro­cesses. Experiences in which students engage in realistic science research provide the background for develop­ing an understanding of the nature of scientific inquiry. Inquiry requires that students process scientific knowl­edge as they use scientific reasoning and critical thinking to develop their understanding of science. Students involved in science research ask ques­tions, plan and conduct investiga­tions, and use appropriate tools and techniques to gather data. These stu­dents think critically and logically about relationships between evi­dence and explanations.

It has been well demonstrated that students who conduct independent projects develop higher-level inquiry skills. For science education to be successful, one must bring sci­ence alive in the classroom for stu­dents. "When this happens, students awaken to a sense of joy, 'wonder­ment, and excitement about learning science. Being engaged in an independent research project allows the relevance of science to become ap­parent because students explore sci­entific developments that have shaped their -world.

Research-based science instruc­tion is an effective teaching strategy and needs to be more widely used. Teaching scientific research meth­ods to high school students enables them to learn through direct obser­vation and experimentation just as professional scientists develop hy­potheses and then test their ideas through repeated experiments and observations. Scientists cannot sim­ply know that something is so; they must demonstrate it is so. The educa­tion of students in science must pro­vide this kind of experience, not sim­ply confirm the "right" answer but investigate the nature of their world and arrive at explanations they un­derstand.

Edward C Haynie;Associate Professor;

Harris-Stowe State College; St. Louis, Missouri

e-mail: ehaynie@charter.net

REFERENCE

National Research Council. 1996. National Science Education Standards. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

Urban School District: Focus on Community School to Enhance Performance

This article directs its focus on the Normandy School District, an urban school district, and examines the performance outcomes of the community school model to improve performance. The community school model is planned based on two common goals: helping students to learn and be successful, strengthening families and engaging the community social and academic resources to enhance the quality of life.  If community characteristics such as economic disparity are strongly associated with student achievement, then efforts to improve student performance must focus on the community as a whole, not just on the school teaching and learning efforts. Community schools identify the concept that raising student achievement levels in schools must involve more than academics. This model has the potential to end the cycle of economic disparity that consistently places some students behind their peers academically before attending a formal school.

Research has shown a strong correlation between communities with high levels of economic disparity, crime, and low student achievement. Despite these challenges, studies also demonstrate that supportive neighborhoods can diffuse the harmful effects of economic disparity on student performance and create the foundation for high achievement (Holloway, 2004). Education reforms promise to have a limited effect if they focus solely on the teaching and learning in the classroom.  Policymakers may strongly consider what research has shown to be true—what happens in the community can and will affect the teaching and learning process that happen in schools.

The framework of the community school will provides high-quality after-school opportunities, comprehensive early childhood education, real-world learning approaches, in addition to physical and mental health services for adults and young people in the neighborhood.  These services should be designed to remove barriers to learning, make community assets fully available to address the needs of learners, and build strong bonds between schools, families, and communities based on mutual investment in the comprehensive well-being of communities and academic institutions.

At the end of this presentation the participants should be familiar with successful community school initiatives and how to engage all stakeholders in establishing the community school model.

Blank, M. J., Melaville, A., & Shah, B. P. (2003, May). Making the difference: Research and practice in community schools. Washington,

Holloway, J. H. (2004, May). Research link: How the community influences achievement. Educational Leadership, 61(8), 89–90.

Dr. Edward Haynie

Normandy School Broad 

ehaynie@charter.net

ehaynie@normandy.k12.mo.us

Professional Development for School Board Members is a Sound Investment

All parents want their children to have an excellent education, access to the latest technology, and a passion for learning. Yet, parents are not the only ones in the community with a vested interest in their children's education. Community groups and athletic teams want to see their students achieve new heights of success, and the business community honors the role education plays in preparing students for the workforce and strengthening the local economy.

Local school board members’ priority across the country is to give students the best education possible, and as school board members, it is our responsibility to give students the best education possible. One of the best ways we can work toward that end is by educating ourselves.

Professional development opportunities on both the state and national level are where leadership begins for school board members. At conferences and workshops, we have the opportunity to learn valuable information and skills that will be shared with the greater community and make our schools stronger. These ideas and strategies help improve our school district and inspire school innovation.

During these times of economic distress, when we are faced with tough choices in our budget, a school board professional development conference may not appear to be an educational priority, but our children benefit from board members attending. Too often, boards make decisions about school policy, finance, personnel, or curriculum without being fully informed. These mistakes waste time and tax dollars - two resources that should not be taken for granted.

The cost of professional development pays off because what we learn at conferences and workshops has a lasting impact. Conference attendance is a sound investment, allowing board members the opportunity to gain knowledge to develop better policies and plans for students, teachers, and school staff.   At a conference exhibition hall, a school board member may discover a new software program that could save the district ten times more than the cost of attending the conference, making it an investment for our children's future and a wise budget decision.

Communities place trust in professions that work for their protection and best interests. The public expects doctors, lawyers, and teachers to continue learning about the latest innovations, solutions, and research in their fields. It is absolutely critical for school board members to do the same. Professional development opportunities allow us to explore the education field on a national level by learning from our peers all over the country. Conferences introduce new strategies, but also allow school board members to look at local education issues from a national perspective.

Professional development conferences are where we learn about resources needed to make our district better and to strengthen student achievement by working with and learning from our peers in our state and nation.   It is our responsibility to keep in mind how we can apply the strategies we learn directly to our schools, save our district money, and lead our district to academic success. School board members are chosen by the community to set policies that affect our community's children - shouldn't we be armed with the best tools possible? Professional development and conferences give us these tools.

Dr. Edward Haynie