Interim Assessments as a Strategy for Improvement: Easier Said Than Done

This essay provides an overview of the papers contained in this issue of the Peabody Journal of Education. In it, the author notes for policymakers especially issues and concerns that emerge from the use of formative assessments geared towards education improvement. While the intent of such assessments is lead to improved overall instruction and improved outcomes, he stresses that this is not a passive act that rests solely on testing children, providing their teachers and school leaders with data, and then hoping improvement will occur.     

Advanced Placement Academy: Case Study of a Program Within a School

The focus of this study was the first year of implementation of the Advanced Placement Academy (APA), a program within a high school providing honors and Advanced Placement coursework for high-ability African American students with previously limited access to rigorous courses. The qualitative investigation explores practical solutions from perspectives of school, classroom, and individual students. Data included document review; administrator, teacher, and student interviews; and classroom observations. Themes identified were academic, guidance, and social and emotional supports. Constructing this rigorous program required time, resources, and expertise coupled with strong leadership, a person in charge. APA created a small, caring community, building student belonging. The community included key persons intensely focused on students and what they need to achieve; e.g., culturally responsive, differentiated instruction. Students from bleak educational backgrounds require more time to develop academic talent and skills and confidence of likely success. Exposure and enrichment builds student motivation for hard work.     

IT Takes a Village: A Case Study of Internal and External Supports of an Urban High School Magnet Career Academy

The Urban Review - The purpose of this study was to examine internal and external supports of an information technology themed (whole school) urban magnet high school located in a low-income urban...     

Creating a Comprehensive School Reform Model: The Talent Development High School With Career Academies

This article discusses the need for comprehensive reforms in school organization, curriculum and instruction, and professional development in order to address the typical, serious problems of large, urban, nonselective high schools. The article describes the design, implementation, and effectiveness of the Talent Development High School with Career Academies, a comprehensive school reform model developed to meet these schools' needs. A plan is outlined for additional research, development, and evaluation activities to complete this model for the remaining core high school academic subjects and grades, and to provide technical assistance materials and support for further replicating the model in high schools across the nation.     

Community Involvement in a Place-Based Program for Hawaiian High School Students

This study examined the development of community involvement in a place-based high school program for at-risk youth. Teachers and community members founded the program to address concerns about low achievement and high dropout rates among Native Hawaiians. In addition to funding, community members provided program development, supervision of students' service-learning, cultural consultation, political support, and teacher and curriculum development. Collaborations were sustained by open communication, the development of a common set of values among a diverse group of people, and flexibility of community members' schedules. Challenges to community involvement included a lack of support from school leadership, teacher burnout, and occasional interpersonal conflicts.     

Some of the Reasons Why Preparing for Exams Is So Hard: What Can Be Done to Make It Easier?

Why it is so difficult to prepare for academic exams is reviewed with respect to recent research. Textbooks, teaching, and information processing characteristics of students all contribute to undermining effective learning and review. Recommendations are made about how instructors can make it easier for students to review and appraise their test readiness, as well as about how students can make a difference in the quality of their own preparations for tests.     

Art Animates: Ideas Inspired by a University-Sponsored Summer Arts Academy for Middle and High School Students

ABSTRACT

Art can provide a vehicle for animating learning. Teachers bring ideas to life through curriculum, while artists realize their ideas through images, often translating between forms, media and spaces. This paper describes the context, content and format of a residential Summer Arts Academy for gifted and talented middle and high school students, held on a university campus. In 2013, the theme of the visual art program at the Summer Arts Academy was animation, which linked to the summer exhibition at the local art museum. Collaborations among university faculty, public school teachers, community artists, and art museum and gallery staff have potential to animate learning for students, while stimulating additional forms of public engagement.     

The School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt: An Innovative Research-Based Program for High School Students

The School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt (SSMV) is an innovative partnership program between a Research I private university and a large urban public school system. The SSMV was started in 2007 and currently has 101 students enrolled in the program, with a total of 60 students who have completed the 4-yr sequential program. Students attend the SSMV for one full day per week during the school year and 3–6 wk in the summers following their ninth- to 11th-grade years, with each grade of 26 students coming to the Vanderbilt campus on a separate day. The research-based curriculum focuses on guiding students through the process of learning to develop questions and hypotheses, designing projects and performing analyses, and communicating results of these projects. The SSMV program has elevated the learning outcomes of students as evidenced by increased achievement scores relative to a comparison group of students; has provided a rigorous research-based science, technology, engineering, and mathematics elective curriculum that culminates in a Summer research internship; has produced 27 Intel and Siemens semifinalists and regional finalists over the past 4 yr; and has supported the development of writing and communication skills resulting in regional and national oral presentations and publications in scientific journals.     

Learning What It Takes to Teach Science: High School Students as Science Teachers for Middle School Students

This study examines the influence of St. John's University Summer Science Experience and Teacher Mentoring Program on African American and Hispanic high school students' interest in science and science teaching as career goals. In the first phase of the program, high school students from six school districts in Suffolk County, Long Island (a suburb of metropolitan New York City) engaged in investigative science experiences that emphasized environmental science, chemistry, and technology and learned about effective science pedagogy. The second phase of the program functioned as a teaching practicum for the high school students, where they planned for instruction and taught middle school students investigations similar to those that they had engaged in during the summer program. Various surveys were developed to assess high school students' attitudes about science and science teaching, knowledge of effective teaching approaches, knowledge of ways to motivate younger students, and the overall impact of the program on the high students' interest in science and/or science teaching as career goals. Program evaluations reveal that over 75% of the students expressed an interest in considering science or science teaching as career possibilities. Implications for minority teacher recruitment are discussed.     

Transforming Learning Support: An Online Resource Centre for a Diverse Student Population

The diverse student population at large multi-campus universities requires English language and academic skills support which is targeted to their needs and easily accessible. The Online Student Resource Centre website, developed at Monash University, provides opportunities for students, no matter where they are, to make contact with staff and to access information, but more significantly offers a suite of stand-alone tutorials and downloadable resources, using NetObjects Fusion as the platform. These derive from some 100 print booklets covering academic writing, reading, listening, speaking, grammar and study skills/exam strategies. This paper outlines the process and philosophy of development of these tutorials, based on a constructivist framework, with guided and self-directed learning paths designed to accommodate a range of learning styles. Two tutorials are analysed to highlight some of the pedagogical challenges in translating print resources for the online environment. The paper concludes by reporting on a pilot evaluation of the two tutorials. Transformation d’un support d’enseignement: un centre de ressources en ligne pour une population

variée d’étudiants. Les populations trés variées d’étudiants dans les grand campus multiples de certaines universités exigent une langue anglaise et des compétences académiques adaptés À leurs besoins et facilement accessible. Le centre de ressources en ligne pour les étudiants grÂce au site web, mis au point À Monash University fournit aux étudiants, où qu’ils soient, des occasions de contacts avec les enseignants et d’accès À l’information, mais de facon plus significative, offre une série d’actions de tuteurs alors que les étudiants sont seuls et de ressources que l’on peut télécharger utilisant la fusion d’objet du Net comme platforme. Ceux ci sont extraits d’une centaine de livrets imprimés concernant l’écriture, la lecture, l’écoute, la parole, la grammaire et les compétences

pour les études et les stratégies des examens. L’article donne les grandes lignes et la philosophie du développement de ces

exercices de tutorat, basés sur un cadre constructiviste comportant des cheminements d’apprentissage guidés et dirigés par les

étudiants pour faire face À toute une série de styles d’apprentissages. On analyse 2 exercices de tutorat pour mettre en valeur

certaines challenges pédagogiques en traduisant des ressources imprimés pour un environnement on ligne. L’article se termine

par le rapport d’une évaluation pilote de ces 2 exercices. Veränderte Lernhilfen: Ein Online Resource Centre für unterschiedliche Studentengruppen. Unterschiedliche Studentengruppen an grossen Campus Universitäten benötigen Unterstützung in der englischen Sprache und bei der Verbesserung der akademischen Fähigkeiten, die auf ihre Bedürfnisse zugeschnitten und einfach zugänglich ist. Das Online Student Resource Centre, das auf der Webseite von der Monash Universität entwickelt wurde, bietet den

Studenten Gelegenheit, unabhängig von ihrem Wohnort, sich mit den Lehrern in Verbindung zu setzen und Informationen abzurufen, aber darüber hinaus bietet es ein Forum für Tutorials and kopierfähiges Informationsmaterial unter Anwendung von NetObjects Fusion als Plattform. Dieses Unterstützungsmaterial stammt von 100 gedruckten Büchern über die Disziplinen, wissenschaftliches Schreiben, Lesen, Hören, Sprechen, Grammatik und Lernfähigkeiten /Prüfungsstrategien. Dieser Artikel beschreibt den Prozess und die Philosophie, die der Entwicklung dieser Tutorials zugrunde liegen und auf

einem ausbaufähigen System basieren und mit vorgegebenen und selbst bestimmten Lernpfaden so angelegt sind, dass sie mehrere Lernstile berücksichtigen. Zwei Tutorials werden analysiert um an ihnen einige der pädagogischen Herausforderungen zu verdeutlichen, die bei der übertragung von gedrucktem Material in das online Lernfeld entstehen. Der Artikel endet mit einem Bericht über die Pilot Evaluierung dieser beiden Tutorials.     

Analysis of Effects of a Reading Study Skill Program for High School Learning-Disabled Students

Abstract

In this study we investigated an instructional plan for teaching a reading study skill, outlining, to high school-aged students with learning disabilities. We used a multiple baseline experimental design to measure the effectiveness of a specially designed program that provided 30 min of instruction for 10 days in the following three categories of outlining: (a) title/main topic selection and format; (b) subtopic selection and format; and (c) detail selection and format. Subjects’ skills increased as a function of the program and were generally maintained on 4- and 8-week follow-up tests. Students also increased their performances on tasks used to assess generalization.     

A Controlled Evaluation of a High School Biomedical Pipeline Program: Design and Methods

Given limited funding for school-based science education, non-school-based programs have been developed at colleges and universities to increase the number of students entering science- and health-related careers and address critical workforce needs. However, few evaluations of such programs have been conducted. We report the design and methods of a controlled trial to evaluate the Stanford Medical Youth Science Program’s Summer Residential Program (SRP), a 25-year-old university-based biomedical pipeline program. This 5-year matched cohort study uses an annual survey to assess educational and career outcomes among four cohorts of students who participate in the SRP and a matched comparison group of applicants who were not chosen to participate in the SRP. Matching on sociodemographic and academic background allows control for potential confounding. This design enables the testing of whether the SRP has an independent effect on educational- and career-related outcomes above and beyond the effects of other factors such as gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic background, and pre-intervention academic preparation. The results will help determine which curriculum components contribute most to successful outcomes and which students benefit most. After 4 years of follow-up, the results demonstrate high response rates from SRP participants and the comparison group with completion rates near 90 %, similar response rates by gender and ethnicity, and little attrition with each additional year of follow-up. This design and methods can potentially be replicated to evaluate and improve other biomedical pipeline programs, which are increasingly important for equipping more students for science- and health-related careers.     

高中生生涯发展导航系统的设计与实践研究——以上海市七宝中学为例

高中阶段开展生涯教育,既是教育政策的一项基本主张,也是近几年新高考改革对高中生基本素养的一个新要求。上海市七宝中学基于学校和学生自身的实际状况,探索在新高考改革背景下建构高中生生涯发展导航系统的有效路径和方法,积累了一定的经验,取得了一些成效。希望这些探索能为当前普通高中的生涯教育实践提供借鉴,为高中生的个性发展、全面发展和终身发展奠定基础。     

Getting Them There,Keeping Them There: Benefits of an Extended School Day Program for High School Students

Over a decade of research has demonstrated the positive effects of extended school day programs on various elementary and middle school student outcomes, both in the short and long term. The efficacy of extended school day programs in promoting academic outcomes among high school students is less well understood. This study contributes to the existing literature by examining school attendance, credit attainment, and standardized reading and math scores in a group of students at risk of academic failure who participated in extended school day programming. The study compared their outcomes to those of a group of demographically similar students who did not participate in the program. The extended school day program is provided within a full-service Schools Uniting Neighborhoods (SUN) Community School (CS) in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. Results suggest an advantage for SUN students in terms of better school attendance and earning credits toward graduation, but not in terms of standardized test scores. Implications for future research and extended school day policy are discussed.     

Social Justice Education in a Diverse Classroom: Examining High School Discussions about Race,Power, and Privilege

High school students who participate in social justice education have a greater awareness of inequities that impact their school, community, and society, and learn tools for taking action to address these inequities. Also, a classroom that consist of students with a diverse set of identities creates an ideal circumstance in which a teacher can build upon student differences in order to facilitate meaningful discussions about social justice, especially issues of race. Therefore, in this article we use qualitative case study approaches to examine a high school course on social justice education, paying specific attention to the classroom pedagogy and dialogue on issues of race, power, and privilege. The course was purposefully diverse in enrollment, which brought students together who might not have had interactions with each other prior to the class. We employ Hackman's (2005) five components of social justice education (SJE) as a framework for the analysis of the pedagogy and discussions constructed in the classroom, as well as a common language for what constitutes as social justice education in our research inquiry. Students in the course developed a facility for defining and identifying various forms of oppression and injustice. However, we questioned to what extent these very same issues played out in the class dialogue. Due to the level of student diversity, the course was a unique space to learn about racism and intersecting issues of social justice. However, there was still some student resistance to acknowledging certain aspects of racism. In conclusion, we discuss how social justice education is not absolved from, but rife with complex racial politics.     

Understanding College-Student Roles: Perspectives of Participants in a High School/Community College Dual-Enrollment Program

Dual-enrollment programs have been proposed as a useful way to ease students’ transition from high school to community college. Several studies have shown that dual enrollment produces positive effects for students, but less is known about the mechanisms these programs use to support student success. Symbolic interactionism suggests that clarity of the role of a college student may help students transition into this role with more ease. With new legislation allowing students to use Pell Grants to attend dual-enrollment programs, and other proposed policies to increase attendance at community college, research on the mechanisms that make dual enrollment successful is well-timed. This study takes a mixed method approach with an online survey (N = 101) and a series of focus groups (N = 15) to explore the experiences of dual-enrollment students from several high schools and one community college. Findings suggest that dual enrollment helped to enhance participants’ clarity of the college-student role, including who attends college, what skills are required, what college can lead to, and their own self-identification as college students. Sources of role expectations for these students included self-reflection and peer, family, teacher, and structural expectations. Students highlighted strengths and weaknesses of the dual-enrollment program in which they were enrolled. These findings have implications for practice, including the potential for dual enrollment to support low-income and first-generation college students in their transition to higher education.     

High School Internships: Utilizing a Community Cultural Wealth Framework to Support Career Preparation and College-Going Among Low-Income Students of Color

This article investigates the experience of 229 low-income students of color who participated in an innovative high school internship program between 2011 and 2015. Using mixed methods (interviews, observations, and survey), the authors aim to understand the types of knowledge, information, and supports these students develop and expand in relation to careers and the college-going process. The authors draw on students' community cultural wealth to highlight the way the internship program supports students' aspirational, navigational, linguistic, resistant, and social capital.     

Implementing Change in Neuroanatomy Education: Organization,Evolution, and Assessment of a Near-Peer Teaching Program in an Undergraduate Medical School in Greece

In light of the current shifts in medical education from traditional lectures to more active teaching modalities, a peer-teaching program was introduced to a compulsory, second-year neuroanatomy course. A cross-sectional survey of 527 medical students in the six-year medical program of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens was administered. The primary aim of the survey, which was distributed to second- through sixth-year medical students, who had completed the neuroanatomy course, was to assess student perception of peer teachers (PTs). Across the five years assessed, students increasingly acknowledged the contribution of PTs to their learning (P < 0.001). Attributes of PTs (e.g., contribution to learning, motivation, effective usage of material, and team environment) were significantly related to the student's opinion of the importance of laboratory activities (P < 0.001). Students who received “average” final grades scored the importance of laboratory exercises, and by inference PTs, significantly lower than students who received “excellent” final grades (P < 0.05). The amount of training that PTs had received was also significantly related to student perceptions of a PT's contribution. Better trained PTs were associated with significantly higher scores regarding learning, motivation, and positive environment compared to less trained PTs (P < 0.05). The results of the present study show that peer-teaching was well received by students attending the neuroanatomy course. While the results express the evolution of the program across the years, the findings also show that learners believed that PTs and the laboratory program contributed significantly to their understanding of neuroanatomy.