ASCD 2015 Whole Child Symposium Examines Poverty and Education

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It has been over half a century since the initiation of President Johnson’s War on Poverty. Despite this, over half of public school students come from low-income families.

This fact was the background against which ASCD, the leading professional development and leadership organization for educators, hosted its 2015 Whole Child Symposium. At the spring conference, experts focused on how poverty influences schools and how stakeholders can mitigate its corrosive effects.

ASCD panelists identified several areas to be addressed to combat the impact of poverty:

Funding.

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Schools are typically funded on the basis of local property taxes and/or by the mandates of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Not surprisingly, the former results in poor districts remaining poor, whereas the latter is widely regarded as inflexible and often detrimental to the needs of modern schools.

Nurturing.

A required component of effective learning, a warm, nurturing environment is often lacking in underfunded, understaffed districts that serve students from low-income backgrounds. In principle, efforts to promote a nurturing environment promise substantial dividends for a relatively insubstantial level of financial investment.

Culture of Poverty.

ASCD panelists also considered how viewing poverty as a culture rather than a circumstance affects outcomes. Viewing poverty as a culture, they suggested, implies that, as an inherent part of the student, it cannot be altered, but by thinking of and treating it as a situation that can be overcome, educators might better frame the issues faced in their schools and discover more effective ways to empower their students.

Rising Success Rates for Minority PhD Candidates in STEM Fields

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For most students, completing a PhD is a daunting task, one that many who undertake it don’t finish. The problem is especially prominent among minorities, who are frequently the only people of color in their departments, a fact that can exacerbate the isolation experienced by many doctoral candidates.

A report released earlier this year by the Council of Graduate Schools, however, has unveiled some good news for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students. Specifically, the statistics indicate that the number of minority PhD candidates who complete their degree within seven years rose by 5 percent from 1996 to 2005.

Clearly, minority graduate students are making headway, but how, exactly?

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Educational institutions have long implemented various strategies to recruit and maintain minority participation in their STEM graduate programs. A common approach is to introduce these students before enrollment to peer networks, potential projects and mentors, and helpful campus resources. Often, though, this level of support drops off after the first year, and in any case, the most effective methods for retaining minority doctoral candidates remains unclear.

Why Teachers Should Consider Abandoning the Zero

For decades, the standard score for failing to turn in an assignment has been the dreaded zero. Many teachers and administrators feel that the punishment of bad grades can serve as a powerful motivator. However, the practice has not inspired students and indeed often provides an avenue for eschewing work altogether.

Instead of automatically giving students a zero for missed deadlines, perhaps the consequence should be requiring that the work be done, as researchers such as Ken O’Connor, Tom Guskey, and Bob Marzano have suggested. The policy puts the students’ learning before the grades and emphasizes work inflation rather than grade inflation.

In cases where teachers feel absolutely compelled to give a zero, such as when a student refuses to complete an assignment even after having been given multiple opportunities to do so, they must consider the score’s overall impact. On the 100-point scale, even substandard work receives a “D,” or about 60 points. Is failing to do the assignment really six times worse than doing it poorly? The four-point scale used to determine grade-point averages, where a zero is only one point less than a “D,” constitutes an arguably fairer grading system.

The Upcoming 2015 Annual Learning Forward Conference

In early December, educational professionals from around the nation will gather at National Harbor just outside of Washington, D.C., to participate in Learning Forward’s 2015 Annual Conference. This year’s five-day event will tackle some of the most pressing issues in modern education, including online and blended learning, teacher evaluation, educational leadership, and changing standards for students. The conference will offer multiple opportunities for networking and sharing experiences with other educational professionals, as well as vendor demonstrations, concurrent sessions, and a large exhibit hall.

This year’s event will feature three keynote speakers: Rehema Ellis, Michael Horn, and Yong Zhao. The chief education correspondent for NBC News, Rehema Ellis has dedicated much of her career to looking at the strengths and weaknesses of the American educational system and pushing for a better tomorrow. Michael Horn serves as the executive director of the education program at the Clayton Christensen Institute, which researches the effects of disruptive education on the primary and secondary education systems. Yong Zhao researches the implications of technology and globalization on the evolution of education in the global sphere as a professor at the University of Oregon. He also directs the school’s Institute for Global and Online Education.

The Importance of Creativity in Education

Over the course of the last several decades, leaders from all educational sectors have called for increased creativity in the classroom. At its most basic level, creativity involves developing novel solutions to existing problems. Creativity plays an essential role in a number of academic areas, ranging from traditionally creative practices such as art and dance to “critical thinking” disciplines such as math and engineering.

While creativity has generally been accepted in artistic endeavors, educational leaders are now beginning to see its benefits in other practices. With a slew of challenges facing the United States and the rest of the world over the next several decades, creative solutions are needed now more than ever. Technology has advanced at unprecedented levels, which opens the door wide for creative approaches to issues, including dwindling natural resources, a rapidly growing population, and climate change. As such, schools at all levels have begun introducing creative activities into the curriculum.

Support Services Offered by Creative Leadership Solutions

Throughout its history as an educational consulting firm, Creative Leadership Solutions (CLS) has helped countless clients to develop customized solutions to their most pressing organizational needs. Following is a quick look at three support services offered by CLS:

– School-level support: Tailored to the unique needs of each school, school-level support typically involves meetings between CLS staff members and principals, faculty members, and teacher leaders. It often entails activities such as classroom observations and meetings with parents and community members.

– Implementation support: Teachers and administrators use implementation support services to create scoring guides for new instructional and technological initiatives. CLS works with clients to establish customized rubrics for their programs and establish a baseline measurement for the degree of implementation.

– District-level support: Designed specifically for school administrators and district officials, district-level support begins with meetings with the district’s senior leadership team. During the meetings, CLS representatives and district leaders analyze the district’s needs and come together to refocus on important issues.

The Value of Creating a Dissertation Cohort

 Fewer than a third of doctoral candidates finish their dissertation. Failure to complete this project represents an enormous waste of intellectual and emotional effort, not to mention the time and expense associated with a doctoral education. One of the best ways for doctoral students to keep themselves on track is to create a dissertation cohort consisting of four or five like-minded students. Boston College experienced dramatic increases in doctoral program completion rates when it instituted the cohort program. While not all universities offer such a formalized program, students can easily create their own groups.

The cohort should consist of individuals who are working on similar, or complementary, research projects and are all set to graduate at or around the same time. Once formed, the cohort should meet weekly to offer emotional support and intellectual engagement. Group members can review and edit each other’s chapters and keep on top of research by committing to sharing a one-page review of a relevant book or research article each week. Ideally, the various strengths and weaknesses of group members balance out so that everyone is able to complete their work and finish with a high quality piece of research.