Five education practices that should be replicated nationally
An extra day for teachers to plan and collaborate each week, and requiring classes in advanced reading strategies in high school, were among readers' top ideas
By Meris Stansbury, Online Editor
Read more by Meris Stansbury
2. Reading as a high school graduation requirement
“During the past 10-15 years, research has shown that there is still more to learn about the skill of reading as a student progresses through high school, just as there is more to learn about mathematics. The process of learning more about the skills of reading changes as a student’s academic knowledge changes and increases. A reading course at the secondary level should not be considered remedial. In 2004, Lincoln-Way Community High School District No. 210 made reading a graduation requirement for all students. The program is organized around seven essential reading skills: Comprehension Monitoring, Cooperative Learning, Graphic and Semantic Organizers, Question Answering/Question Recognition, Question Generation, Structure: Narrative and Expository Text, and Summarization Skills. From 2004–2009, students in the Lincoln-Way High School District went from 66 percent meeting and exceeding state standards to 77 percent meeting and exceeding state standards.” —Sharon Michalak, Ed.D., assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction, and staff development, Lincoln-Way Community High School District No. 210, Illinois
1. Tablet computers and electronic, interactive textbooks for all students
“The single most economic and productive action which could be taken to improve K-12 education is to provide each student with an interactive 8″ x 11” tablet PC, together with subject material in digital interactive, color, and animated form instead of paper, books, and similar learning materials. A tablet PC soon will cost less than $100—making it less expensive than present learning tools. We’re in an electronic world that is rapidly expanding—[and] K-12 school systems must get with it to keep up with others.” —Stan Doore, former adjunct lecturer (Information Systems), American University
cynthiaw
October 31, 2011 at 5:41 pm
PC tablets would also receive my number one vote. Since the funding for education is on a downhill slope, purchasing a PC table for the students already loadede with the textbooks needed for the courses would eliminate expenses from district’s budgets and would assist the district with “going green”. Students would value the hardware and I would imagine their engagement in the classroom would increase. The country will need to support funding for wireless communication for the public schools and to create an affordable access for school districts in a global educational world.