NORTHEASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
Independent Work on Schools and Achievement
You are to independently work on understanding the complexities of schools. Please follow the directions below and submit your work electronically by the due date. You are not to simply copy words from the text. Everything you write must be in your own words. Also
ing a hard copy/printed version of your work to the next class so that it can be used as a reference/study guide.
Exploring Children’s Schooling
Santrock describes various types of schooling children experience. For example, the reader might have attended a public, private or alternative school whose approach and resources available to education might have differed greatly. Some students might have attended a homogenous school while others attended a school full of diversity. One of the most important aspects to understanding schools today is the differences of the various types of schools that are available. This independent study will help us learn about the various schooling types and the demands which are placed upon schools.
Contemporary Approaches to Student Learning and Assessment
There are various ways in which to instruct students. One idea refers to role the teacher plays in transmitting information and how much influence she/he should have. Two primary approaches are Direct Instruction and Learner-Centered Instruction.
Please define the following terms and give an example of how this technique was applied in either your high school science, math or biology studies.
1. Direct Instruction Approach
a. Please define the term
. Give an example of how this technique was applied in high school in either a science, math or biology class.
2. Learner-Centered or Constructivist Approach
a. Please define the term
a. Give an example of how this technique was applied in high school in either a science, math or biology class.
Early Childhood Education
3. Head Start is a federally funded program which services disadvantaged children.
a. What advantages does Head Start have for children’s development, and
. What does Head Start prepare students to do?
Educating Adolescents
4. Describe what the top dog phenomenon is. In what context do you think that students experience this while in school? Please give an example and describe.
Socioeconomic Status and Ethnicity in Schools
5. Give a definition of socioeconomic status. Use resources other than Santrock if necessary.
6. Of Santrock’s five strategies (bullet points) for promoting ethnically diverse relationships among students, which three do you feel would work best and why?
7. If you were the teacher, pick one of the strategies listed above and create a learner centered classroom activity that would help students develop deeper relationships with each other.
Achievement
8. During your middle school years, do you believe your studies were more intrinsically or extrinsically motivated? Provide an example to support your belief.
9. Now that you are in college, which type of orientation (mastery, helpless or performance) do you feel you have the most? Please give an example to support your belief.
10. Describe self-efficacy and what level of self-efficacy do you have in your own college level studies?
Growth and Fixed Mindsets
We will now address the idea of growth or fixed mindset as developed by Dr. Carol Dweck. Please go into the READ folder and read the article written by Dweck about growth and fixed mindsets and how this relates to achievement. Below is a chart summarizing her theory.
Now please watch “The power of belief – mindset and success” by Eduardo Briceno
( https:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN34FNbOKXc#t=17 )
11. When you were a child in elementary school, did you have a fixed or growth mindset? Please give an example of this from something that you felt or experienced either in school, sport, or extracu
icular activity.
If find this topic interesting, you can hear more of Dr. Carol Dweck describing her theory of growth versus fixed mindset as she presents it at Google headquarters. She talks about the theory, children and adulthood, classrooms, teaching, and industry.
Carol Dweck: The Growth Mindset : Talks at Google ( https:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-71zdXCMU6A )
Schools/Independent Work/EDFN/Makris