Jefferson Learning Academy

CURRICULUM

Emphasis on…

• Cognitive Processes – Problem Solving– Developing Critical Thinking Skills– Differentiating to Accommodate Multiple

Intelligences and Learning Styles

• Personal Relevance

-Meaningful, Authentic Experiences

-Real World Applications

-Based on Student Interests

• Higher Order of Thinking

-Bloom’s Taxonomy

Preparing 21st Century Learners…• Collaboration• Technology • Performance-based assessments• Critical thinking skills• Teacher as facilitator • Curriculum is connected to students’ interests,

experiences, talents and the real world (21st Century Learning, LLC).

• Global Citizenship

Professional Learning Communities • Focus on Depth of Knowledge

– Students will possess deeper understandings rather than broader information

• Teachers working collaboratively to focus on developing student-centered curriculum.

• Understanding By Design– Anticipate Misconceptions– Establish Enduring Understandings and

Essential Questions

Collaboration

• Within Professional Learning Communities, teachers collaborate with one another on a school Moodle site.

• This site allows for unit development, reflection, sharing of resources and a variety of professional development opportunities within a virtual learning environment.

Single-sex Classrooms

March of 2002 – there were only 11 public schools that offered single-sex classrooms.May of 2009 – there are at least 542 public schools in the United States that offer single-sex educational opportunities.Most of these schools are COED schools which offer single-sex classrooms.Kentucky – approximately 16 schools offer single-sex classrooms.Ohio – approximately 23 schools offer single-sex classrooms. United States – 32 of the 50 states have at least one school that offers single-sex classrooms.

Why Gender-based Classrooms?

The advantages Rise in academic performance Rise in state test scores Close the gender gap in respective core

content classes: Boys usually outperform girls in math and science while girls excel more in reading and writing.

Reduction in discipline referrals due to less classroom distractions.

Teachers can tailor their lessons to fit the needs and interests of the different genders.

Creates a comfortable learning environment for all students especially when discussing certain topics.

Boys and girls are more willing to task risks when separated in the classroom.

The disadvantages Classroom sizes due to the breakdown

of boys and girls in the school. Professional development needed for

teachers. Real-world experiences with the

opposite gender. Requires more planning on the part of

the teacher.

Gender Differences in the Brain• Boys’ brains develop differently than girls’ brains develop. In girls, the language areas of the brain develop before the areas used for spatial relations and

for geometry. In boys, it's the other way around. A school which ignores those differences will produce boys who struggle in reading and writing and girls who struggle in math and science.

Researchers have found that the areas of the brain dealing with language and fine motor skills mature about six years earlier in girls than in boys.

They also discovered that the areas of the brain involved in targeting and spatial memory mature about four years earlier in boys than in girls.

The research also supports the idea that areas of the brain involved in language, in spatial memory, in motor coordination, and in getting along with other people, develop in a “different order, time, and rate” in girls compared with boys.

• The brain is wired differently - in teenage girls, emotion is processed in the same area of the brain that processes language. So, it's not too difficult for most teenage girls to talk about their emotions. In boys, the brain regions involved in talking are separate from the regions involved in feeling. The hardest question for many boys to answer is: "Tell me how you feel."

• Girls hear 7x better - the typical teenage girl has a sense of hearing which is significantly better than a teenage boy. That's why daughters so often complain that their fathers are shouting at them. Dad doesn't think he's shouting, but Dad doesn't hear his voice the way his daughter does.

Apples vs. Oranges

Boys They just want to learn the material or

start the task without hearing the background behind it.

Boys learn math more easily when you focus on the properties of the numbers due to the way their brain is wired (hippocampus, an ancient nucleus buried deep in the brain, with few direct connections to the cerebral cortex).

Boys tend to prefer fiction over non-fiction and like to read descriptions of real events such as battles or adventures.

Role playing activities do not work well for boys – keep your assignments objective and fact oriented.

Girls Context enhances learning for most

girls so they enjoy hearing the story behind the material and the real-world application of it.

They can learn math more easily if story problems are used when teaching the concepts due the way their brain is wired (cerebral cortex – part of the brain responsible for language).

Girls, on the other hand, usually prefer books which focus on relationships among two or three individuals.

Role playing does work well for girls where skits can be created to act of various scenes from the book.

Making Learning Meaningful• All teachers will be expected to utilize differentiated instruction techniques regardless

of the class gender.• Curriculum design and implementation will reflect the preference of visual learning. • Learning preference for K-12 students is as follows:

Sight – 47%, Hearing – 19%, Touch – 34%• Three kinds of memory in the brain: short-term memory (1:00 duration), working

memory (5-7 items depending on age), and long-term memory (capacity is unlimited and duration is a lifetime).

• Our teachers will strive to make the learning experience one of meaning and value so knowledge is stored in the long-term memory bank.

• Teachers will take content and connect it to the lives of the students. • The question, “Does this make sense?” will be answered.• The question, “How does this have meaning to me?” will be answered.• Teachers will be expected to use flashback techniques and structure their classroom

delivery so learning takes place during the primetime periods.• Students will learn due to the active student participation that takes place in all

classes regardless of the gender in the room.

Preparing the Faculty

• Major focus on dialogue concerning the needs of all the students.• Three days of professional development in the summer before

school starts to focus on:1. Gender differences in the brain and how it’s wired differently in boys and girls.2. Practical strategies that work with boys and practical strategies that work with girls.3. Differentiated instruction techniques to meet the needs of everyone.4. Developing content in gender-specific classrooms that will enhance learning for everyone.

• Follow-up PD days throughout the year that focuses on dialogue among the administration and staff. (What’s working and what may need to be altered?)

Success Stories• Riverview Middle School in Huntington, Indiana began offering single-sex classes in 2006-2007

school year. The change has brought about improved test scores and attendance as well as a decrease in student referrals.

• Massillon Middle School in Massillon, Ohio began offering single-sex classrooms for 5 th and 6th graders during the 2006-2007 school year. Single-sex classes are offered in the core content classes yet electives remain coed. Then-Principal Diane Lukac remarked that the change was “exceeding expectations. Participation levels are high, discipline problems are down, and teachers are enjoying the format. You go into an all-girls math class and every hand is in the air. You go into a coed class and you don’t see that.”

• The Harry Davis Middle School in East Cleveland began offering single-sex classes several years ago. Principal Sherree Ray told reporter Jennifer Smith that the result has been higher test scores and fewer discipline problems. “There are no more shenanigans, “ she said. “It’s really powerful for both sexes.”

• Southern Middle School in Louisville also began offering single-sex classes in 2002-2003 and saw a five point gain in the state test scores along with a six point gain in their writing scores. The school also saw their student suspensions drop by an astounding 80 percent.

• Clarksville Middle School in Clarksville, Indiana reported that the first year they split up the boys and girls there were 46% of the 6th grade boys and 45% of the 6th grade girls that passed all of their classes. Now in their 8th grade year, 68% of boys and 78% of girls are passing all of their classes.

“Failure is not an option”

• All teachers subscribe to the theory that failing grades are not an option in their classes.

• Teachers focus on “learning” more so than “teaching”, placing the learner first

• If students are failing, then we as professionals are failing

• Failure leads to retention

Research on Retention

• More boys are retained than girls and more minorities are retained than Caucasians

• Retention is associated with later high school dropout

• Students who are retained have lower attendance rates and higher suspension rates as they get older

• Retention does not improve performance in subsequent years

School Start Time• School hours are 8:35-3:30• 60% of children under 18 report being tired during the school day, and

15% said they fell asleep during the school day• Research indicates that melatonin, a brain chemical responsible for

sleepiness, is secreted in adolescents from 11pm-8am. • Typical children are not able to fall asleep much before 11pm, and will

remain in sleep mode until about 8am.• Later start times result in a reduction of the dropout rate, less

depression among students, and students reported earning higher grades

• 92% of parents in a Minnesota high school reported being in favor of the later start, despite initial concerns about busing, athletics, and child care for younger students

• Earlier start times lead to lower academic achievement, behavior concerns, and health and safety issues.

• Later start times found improvement in attendance and enrollment rates, increased alertness, and decreased depression among students

Teacher Evaluation Procedures

• Tenure is not offered to teachers• Teachers to be evaluated annually by rotating

teachers in the building who have at least 3 years experience

• 70% of teachers in a recent survey said tenure is just a formality and has little to do with teacher quality

• Only 25% of teachers said their recent evaluation was “useful and effective”

• Many administrators feel that critical evaluations of teachers are pointless and lead to a grievance process they don’t have time for.

Schedule- To block or not to block?

• Pros-

• GPA increase in almost all subjects

• Higher state testing scores

• Improved ACT scores (SAT showed no change)

• Focus on “depth” of learning, not surface level learning

Schedule- To block or not to block?

• Cons-• Research conducted in high schools and is

sketchy• Research on block scheduling in middle schools

is almost non-existent• Success stories may be prevalent in some

schools, but serious, long term studies are lacking

• Adolescent attention span is short, even more so in learning disabled students

• Double the time does not mean double the content

Teacher Recruitment• No teacher recruitment instrument to be used; all

qualified applicant will interview• Many recruitment tools or “screeners” measure values

and behavior, not subject knowledge• No link to teacher scores on these screeners to

student achievement• Some screeners favor empathy or authority• Good teachers fall through the cracks and do not

receive interviews• Used by 15% of nation’s districts• Most comprehensive study, conducted by Michigan

State University, indicated these screeners had “minimal benefit”

Student Development Class

• Strive to educate and empower our students beyond the typical core curriculum.

• Goal: Create a supportive environment where each student can explore their interests, identity, and find confidence in themselves. – Holistic, preventative approach

Student Development Class

• Topics and areas covered will include, but are not limited to:– Personal Development: Understanding Self – Social Skills/Conflict Resolution– Career Awareness, Exploration and Planning– Setting and Achieving Goals – Academic Skills Support – Active Citizenship – Healthy Lifestyle Choices

Counseling Department

• 1 Counselor per grade (Ratio- 1:100 students)

• Goals: – Provide a positive support system within the

school – Aware of current issues adolescents face – Proactive in anticipating the needs of our

students– Be present and available to meet with students in

a timely manner

Counseling Department

• Overview of Services 1. Individual/Responsive

2. Group counseling

3. In-class work/Collaboration with teachers

4. School-wide programs

School Wide Programs

• Transitioning Team- peer mentoring for new students at the beginning of the year.

• Challenge Day- retreat to break down stereotypes and build self-esteem and positive peer relationships.

• “Use a Different Word” Campaign • Partnering with Parents- collaborate with

parents and encourage dialogue within the family. – “The best forms of character education is to involve students in

honest, thoughtful discussion and reflection regarding the moral implications of what they see around them, what they are told, and what they personally do and experience.”

Extracurricular Opportunities

• Goal: Provide opportunities to encourage our students to engage in activities outside the classroom. – Clubs– Student Government – Choir and Band – Sports – Community Service

"Jefferson Learning Academy"

Collaborate. Educate. Innovate. Any Questions?