Education

Education

• Some districts are confident that they are succeeding.• Some know they are not. Many feel like the system is

broken. – Some experience 40% dropout rates. Some higher. – The University of Alaska system often has to spend a whole

academic year preparing rural and urban students for 100 level courses.

– Dropout rates do not indicate the success with those who remain in school and feel like their experience was not worthwhile.

Engaged or not?

• TEACHERS. In many locations teachers spend large amounts of time on motivation and classroom management.

• STUDENTS. – Many do not see the relevance of education. – Many do not experience parental support. – Either they are self-motivated or they are not motivated at all.

• “How do we engage students?” Key question.• Do we use “carrots,” “sticks,” some combination, or

something else.

Two components

•Relevance

•Role models

Relevance• Relevance is not a silver bullet… but is at least a bullet with a

silver alloy. • Native and nonNative Alaskans are practical.

– They are also independent.– They respond much better to cooperation than coercion.– Text and materials from the Lower 48, with illustrations and examples

that aren’t relevant pose a double challenge for students. • If students can see the relevance of what is taught:

– To their community.– To their perceived future.

They will buy in.

Becoming relevant has three components:

• Demonstrate the connection to community and future goals.

• Align State Standards to careers as well as higher education.

• Utilize theme based instruction & align themes to real life interests. Embed current standards in those themes.

Beaver TrappingChecklist

We take what is USEFUL.We do NOT take anything that can be left behind.

If we don’t show students the relevance of academic concepts, they figure it is a bobble-head.“What do I need this for?” is a question worthy of a respectful answer!They are just asking that we make sense.

MotivationConnecting the material to a future goal.

Assist learning Using familiar examples to learn new concepts.

We make associations with things we already know.

For many village students, they are learning new concepts with foreign examples.

We make a huge assumption:Students will someday be

able to put the academic disciplines together and apply them to their lives.

Our instruction is almost void of models.

Academic tracks

• When students look down the track of school/life, do they see a desirable

target?

Why Math

Video

Align State Standards• Problems with the past standards development process:

– Select group of people. The outcome was predetermined by the people invited. They were highly motivated and capable people.

– Only content people in the meeting. There was no one from another discipline with veto power.

– Uneven foundation. We built on previous standards. – GLE’s developed from those standards. Very difficult process. – Huge assessment and curriculum superstructure has been

developed on top of the flawed foundation.– Teachers are highly skilled at delivering information, the “how”

of education, but might not be the best source for “what” information is necessary.

But there’s still good news. We can use and meet standards in other ways.

Theme based teaching that evolves

from community interests… Embed

the standards in the themes.

Answer…Fishing

Internet businesses

Embed the standards into themes that relate to students’ interests.

This teaches students how to

relate the disciplines

to each other

• Organize the themes in a way that meet and teach current standards

while…• Modeling lifetime learning by teaching to interesting

themes.

Think about it…• The only entity that organizes information in the way

schools do is… schools.• State government, business, sports, etc all organize

differently.

Another way to say the same thing

When students look down the tracks of the K-12 path, do the see careers? Do they see a path from where

they are to where they want to go?

…Often, they don’t.

Answer…• Align State Standards with career destinations.

– What academic skills are requested by industry?– What personal skills and attributes are desired? (WorkKeys)

• Involve target industries in the alignment process. Educators alone are not able to do this. We are preparing students for the future, but there were no people “from the future” in the standards development meetings.

• Include an entrepreneurship component in developing standards.

• STOP. If no real life examples and applications exist for the content we are teaching, we should STOP teaching it. There’s enough information that needs to be taught.

Much of our curriculum is anachronistic. Our mission is to prepare students for the future, not the past!!!!!!!!

• Align our curriculum with the students perception of their future. It doesn’t matter as much what we see as what they see.

Alaskapedia & …• A website, like Wikipedia, where Alaskans from all professions and careers

can contribute by showing the connection between their careers and the academic concepts we teach.

• Example:• Give real life applications for:

– ratio and proportion – a persuasive letter– trigonometry– applications of history to today’s issues– use of the arts in science or science in the arts– Etc.

• E books- a great possibility for replacing textbooks with locally relevant examples, illustrations and content.

Relevance• It’s not like you have to massively change

curriculum to be relevant. The more you do it, the better it gets.

• For years, “culture” has been an add-on. It needs to be a living component embedded in every lesson in every community.

Role models• Problem. Many positive role models have left small

communities in pursuit of careers and adventure elsewhere.

• Solution. Make positive role models age 18-28 available by digital media. This will reconnect students to successful role models just ahead of them.

If every day teachers could click on a 2-5 minute video interview with a “successful” person from the local area, student hopes and performance would soar.

Personal Vision

In Conclusion• Problems. The biggest educational problems exist because students do not

see the connection between what is taught and their perceived future. • Answer. Make curriculum relevant by:

– Aligning curriculum with students’ view of their future. – Aligning State Standards with:

• Community references (local level) We will NOT tell Districts how to teach.• Meaningful themes (state and local level)• Careers (state and local level)

• Answer. Reconnect role models with home communities by digital interviews.• Relevance and role models are a HUGE component of correcting ills in remote

communities. When education is a ladder to a visible hope, young people will climb it. Dropout rates will drop, and suicide rates will follow.

• Districts who are now “succeeding” will experience greater success.