Introduction
This paper is a continuation to Module 3 where I did some student research on the achievement gap for Hispanic students in Bogota Junior/Senior High School. I created a table that provides some insight on trends, issues, evidence-based remediation practices, and learning preferences for Hispanic students. Utilizing that information I will create a Math/Science lesson plan utilizing the UDL principles to further enrich and simplify the material my students will be learning.
Part 1: Lesson Plan
The lesson plan below will demonstrate how I will be addressing the emotional elements of learning preferences. I will incorporate Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles in my lesson plan is to provide learners various ways in which they can learn the information. Alternative forms of assessments and utilizing multiple means of engagement. Because I work with students with behavioral and cognitive disabilities the lesson plan will be created for Hispanic students grades 7th through 8th as those are the grade levels I am exposed to and can modify lessons to instruct multiple grade/learning levels.
I plan to keep the students motivated to complete the assignment by having music in the background as they work, I will have only two of the four classroom lights on. I will be walking around the room checking on the progress of the assignment. Asking the students questions such as: Why did you add a ramp? and so on to get them really engaged and excited about the project.
Part 2: Assessment Rubric
The rubric below will assess the students based on the science journals and data collection sheet that will show their understanding of how math and science are intertwined. When reading the rubric, the sources I refer to are other students in the classroom, the internet or the teacher. For this particular assignment completion was not the goal, the goal was to demonstrate understanding of Newton’s Third Law and how math is used to analyze science.
Maximum Total of 24 Points
Part 3: Applying Research and Key Learning
Prior to beginning my research on the Math achievement gap that Hispanics students face, I was not aware that according to the 2010 Census, the Hispanic student population has increased by almost 20%, that population is expected to rise by 16% by 2050 (Webley, 2011). Yet, in the state of New Jersey Mathematics average is 40% while the Hispanic students school average is 26%, that is a difference of 14%. I found that the main reason for this lagging for Hispanic students is that they are being taught the same way as the other students. Teachers are not using comprehensible input, they are not getting background knowledge from the students. Even when they utilize background knowledge it is usually based on assumptions instead of facts. Some strategies that researcher Christopher Howe advice for teachers and anyone in education: Develop professional development to help teachers and staff adequately teach Hispanics students based on their needs. Set high expectations for the students. Some teachers may want to take it easy on the students because they might feel bad for them, but instead of helping the students they are doing them a disservice by not challenging them to let and improve themselves. Place value on the students’ home language and encourage parents/guardians to become involved in the child’s education. If the students feel their education is being valued they will in turn value their education as well.
First, I think the staff and administration at my school, Bogota Junior/Senior High School need to be properly trained in how to teach minority students. The professional development should address cultural diversity, dynamics of the population and strategies that have been proven to be successful with Hispanic students (Howe, 2011). Common and sometimes detrimental mistakes can be avoided by just being informed. Second, I would suggest beginning every school year with a student survey, this is so that all the teachers can be informed on the students background, thus they can get information needed to properly teach from the student (who are experts about their lives) and other resources. Finally, I would start a program to engage the culturally diverse community of parents/guardians/caretakers. Edward Graham states that student success comes from parent involvement at home and school. Continuous communication between the school and parents is essential for promoting learning in minority students. Some ways communication can be done is by: providing newsletters to the parents in their home language, sending home positive notes about student behavior, writing a short summary of the days events in the school website so the parents can access it at their convenience, and the one strategy that is more time consuming but ultimately worth the effort is a call home to give parents feedback on their child is always appreciated.
Conclusion
Using the skills and strategies I learned while researching the math achievement gap among Hispanic students in my school has shown me that we as a nation have a lot of work to do if we ever want to close the achievement gap. I believe to get success we as educators have to work hard as do the students and anyone involved in their education, which should be everyone from their coaches to the school librarian. In order to close the achievement gap we, educators, need to learn about the students first, build a rapport and then use the background knowledge to create unique lessons that will excite and teach the students.
References
- Achievement Gaps: How Hispanic and White Students in Public Schools Perform in Mathematics and Reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. (n. d.). Retrieved from https://nces. ed. gov/nationsreportcard/pubs/studies/2011459. asp
- Graham, E. (n. d.). 10 Ideas for Engaging Parents. Retrieved from http://www. nea. org/tools/56945. htm
- Howe, C. K. (1994). Improving the Achievement of Hispanic Students. Educational Leadership, 51 (8), 42-44. Retrieved from http://www. ascd. org/publications/educational-leadership/may94/vol51/num08/Improving-the-Achievement-of-Hispanic-Students. aspx
- The UDL Guidelines. (2018, August 31). Retrieved from http://udlguidelines. cast. org/
- Webley, K. (2011, June 23). The Achievement Gap: Why Hispanic Students Are Still Behind. Time Magazine . Retrieved from http://content. time. com/time/nation/article/0, 8599, 2079429, 00. html