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Helping every student experience meaningful, deep learning is a constant challenge, in no small part because no two learners are alike. To reach students who are particularly challenged -- whether because of their ability to speak English or some other reason -- educators can find a way in by tapping into students' interests and passion. 
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Just 12 minutes of aerobic exercise can boost low-income college students’ academic performance. The effect is large enough to close the achievement gap.
Beth Dichter's insight:
In 2012 a study was published that noted there were academic benefits for low-income who had "short bursts of aerobic exercise. This article shares a new study where participants age 17 - 21 were placed in groups (based on income level) and assigned to either the experimental group or the control group. The experimental group jogged for 12 minutes while the control group watched a video on the benefits of exercise. And yes, these students also saw a significant increase in academic performance. For more information click through to the article.
Progressive training's curator insight,
June 17, 2014 11:30 AM
Can Exercise Close the Achievement Gap?
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"A new study from Stanford shows that a simple teaching tactic may help close the achievement gap between Latino American students and their white peers...The matter comes down to overcoming the negative effects of “stereotype threat,” a phenomenon that researchers have identified and documented over the last two decades. What they have found – in numerous studies – is that the stress and uncertain sense of belonging that can stem from being a member of a negatively stereotyped group undermines academic performance of minority students as compared with white students."
Beth Dichter's insight:
I rarely quote extensively from posts I have read, but in this case I am going to quote a section that appears in this post. Students completed several structured reflection exercises in their class throughout the year. The tasks were given at critical moments: the beginning of the school year; before tests; and near the holiday season, a period of stress for many people." The post goes on to note that there was a control group and that there were significan differences between the two groups with the Latino students obtaining higher grades and that the effects of this affirmation exercise lasted for three years. I posted an article about this a few weeks ago, but this article (which is actually a reprint of one published in the Stanford Graduate School of Education website) provides a more in-depth look at some of these studies. If you have a large Latino population in your school it is worth your time to check out this article.
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From
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An infographic that explores the gaps and resource mismatches in meeting the needs of an ever growing ELL population. The infographic may be downloaded as a pdf file.
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So what happens when we teach to the test? Check out this infographic to learn more. Scroll down past the infographic to see detailed information on the material found in Teaching to the Test.
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The way kids interact with computers and software -- and the support they get from adults -- is more important to improve learning outcomes than merely having access to the technology, study finds.
Beth Dichter's insight:
Research continues to tell us that providing students with digital devices does not lead to improved learning outcomes. The question that needs to be looked at is what else needs to be done? The researchers were interested in seeing if the introduction of computers would "close the opportunity gap." Unfortunately this is not what happened. Here is one sentence from the post: "They select different programs and features, engage in different types of mental activity, and come away with different kinds of knowledge and experience." There is much more information found in this post. The way the students use the computers were very different between the two groups as was the interaction of the adults with the children. This post brings up one question for me. More and more schools are moving to a one-to-one initiative. Are these schools providing teachers with the necessary professional development for them to effectively teach their students? Will we be able to overcome the obstacles that were found in these two very different libraries in our schools, or will we see a difference between our students who have access at home and those who do not?
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A new analysis aims to quantify, in both hours invested and dollars spent, the learning advantages that accumulate to children who grow up in middle- and upper-class homes.
Beth Dichter's insight:
We know that there is a tremendous difference in the opportunities provided to students based on income levels and this news analysis brings the gap into focus in two areas: * the number of hours of learning time * the amount of money spent on learning and enrichment activities The visual provides a look at how this gap manifests at the ages of four, five, eight, ten and twelve. It is important to note that the method of gathering this data is not the same for these two areas and details are spelled out in this post.
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"The National Center for Education Statistics just released its 2012 Condition of Higher Education report, and for those who follow higher education, its findings are not surprising. Higher education is booming, with a 37% increase in enrollment from 2000-2010...There is a wealth of data in the report, but here are four of the research results that may go a long way toward explaining some of the recent challenges in higher education, including declining retention and graduation rates." A brief explanation of the results are below. The article provides additional detail as well as an analysis. * Students accepted thru open admission are less likely to complete degrees. * More students are working part time or full time. * "Students seem to get less for their money at private for-profit colleges." * "The achievement gap between white and other races/ethnicities is increasing."
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The widening achievement gap between affluent and low-income students has received less attention than the divide between white and black students, which has narrowed significantly.
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How do we get our students to do deeper learning? One way it to find our what our students are passionate about, allowing them to connect their personal life to their academic life.
The post discusses challenges that of English language learners, yet the ideas apply to all of our students. Three sections provide suggestions:
* Creating Structures for Success
* Teacher Grouping
* School Structures to Promote Success
There are many quotes I could choose to share. This is the one I have chosen:
'“The first thing that comes to mind for me is changing students’ perceptions of themselves so they don’t see themselves as unable to learn...If they are thinking about themselves as students who are exercising that muscle, the brain, then it changes their perception of themselves.”