One of the main struggles for principles and school boards in elementary schools is wondering if the district should switch classes, therefore this debate has been going on for a long time. Expert’s opinions vary, so greatly, that the vote has gone on since 2006. So far, some districts have tried out departmentalization, but the group is not widespread.
The schools that have integrated switching classes start at either kindergarten or fifth grade. Some, but not an innumerable group, have started in fourth; furthermore, some schools would rather start at kindergarten for the reason that starting them at that age has them already prepared for middle school when they reach that step in their life. The schools like Wakarusa Elementary and Legacy Charter 5th grade academy, a public school, and private school, both start departmentalization in 5th grade, simply for the reason that the school board is choosing to use that year as a transition for middle school.
As the popularity increases, the amount of instructors in these schools varies. While, some schools choose to use the grade of the students and then decide what amount of instructors would be congenial. Schools that start at Kindergarten regularly choose to switch two times a day with a two different instructors so the kindergarteners are not stressed. However, the fifth graders often have four to six instructors, to simulate the feeling of middle school.
If departmentalization is implemented in younger grades, studies show, that teachers are less likely to adopt a student teacher bond and evaluate the whole child, but in later grades, departmentalization is, believably, more likely to produce a subject matter orientation. Nevertheless, students in all of elementary sch...
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On the morning of September 4, 1957, Elizabeth was getting ready to go to her first day of school at Little Rock Central High School. She didn?t have a phone at her house, so she didn?t know that the other 8 students were going to meet at Daisy Bates? house and to go school together as a group. She got off the bus and walked down Park street in Little Rock, Arkansas and into a screaming mob with military police around her and she began her quest to attend Central High School in Little Rock. She thought the police were there to protect her, but they were ...
The ASCA National Model. (n.d.). Newport News Public Schools. Retrieved June 5, 2014, from http://sbo.nn.k12.va.us/guidance/document
Education experts have spent many years planning and revising learning material and assessment tools to meet the ever-changing social and economical teaching and learning demands in the United States. Rapid growth in technology means that change is constant in the field of education. Educators learn very quickly that change is one aspect of their position that is inevitable, and that effective transformation by stakeholders at every level is necessary in keeping with these demands. Whether one approaches the crisis in American schooling from the perspective of experience in schools, or from analysis of the market forces in the private sector and the factors necessary for institutional innovation, or from the movement to empower poor and minority communities, it is clear that what we call “public education” must change (Grego, 2011).
As a student, I am often troubled by the rigid routines of the school day, despite the fact that I am actually a very habitual person. The constant ringing of bells, lectures, bellwork, classwork, homework, each a daily practice throughout the school year. Although all of these components promote conformity, which will ultimately support the balance of school and societal norms, they also tend to threaten each student’s own unique characteristics. This then poses the question; to what degree should schools encourage conformity versus individuality? Certainly, a level of conformity is required to achieve a balanced society however, the overall structure of the school day and class, including the methods used to teach and mandatory classes, is depriving students of their sense of independence by not allowing them to think for themselves and destroying their natural curiosity; therefore I believe schools need to place more emphasis on the individuality of students.
“COOPERATIVE LEARNING (CL), THE Instructionaluse of small groups in order toachieve common learning goals via cooperation,has made an almost unprecedented impact in educationduring the last two decades.According toJohnson, and Smith (1995)CL is oneof the most thoroughly researched areas in educationalpsychology. As they assert,We know more about cooperative learning than weknow about lecturing, age grouping, departmentalization,starting reading at age six, or the 50-minuteperiod. We know more about cooperative learning than about almost any other aspect of education.”
I completed my final observation on October 15 at the UTC Children’s Center at Battle Academy. When I arrived to my classroom, the students were on a field trip so I quickly went down to the fire hall on Main Street to meet up with the class. At the fire hall, parents, as well as the two teachers accompanied the students. The students arrived back in their classroom around 11:10, and that is when the parents left. After the field trip the children ate lunch in the cafeteria, had a brief lesson in the classroom, and played outside. The class I observed was preschool, with most children around 3 to 4 years old. All the children seemed to be developing normally. There were 7 boys and 3 girls present in the classroom.
Parkhurst, Emily. "Portland Schools May Move Away from Traditional Grade Levels." The Forecaster. Sun Media Group, 5 Dec. 2011. Web. 6 Mar. 2012.
Class sizes in America have been on a constant rise for years now, with little help from a budget, and almost no recovery from a slumping economy, which brings to light the age-old discussion; does class size really matter? With class sizes rising at a constant rate there is also no relief for students. There are many students who tend to struggle in certain subjects, and a smaller class could mean more individual time with a teacher and that could help improve their knowledge and comprehension of the subject. Our students are in classes day in and day out that are simply too big for even the finest teachers to handle, which impairs each individual’s learning. Therefore if teachers had fewer students this would enable them to give more individual teaching time to each student. Class size is important, and it has a large impact on our student’s education and that is why class size should be cut, specifically in Pre-K to third grade classes or classes which serve the most “at-risk” students.
http://www.gale.com/gale/. 144. The. Print. The. Janeway, Elizabeth. A. “Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy, and Louisa.”
According to social cognitive theory, people and their environments mutually influence each other (Ormrod, 2011). People learn from the environment they are in, people they interact with, and behaviors they watch. People can learn by observing others and as they become older they can set their goals based on the accomplishments and the results of that learning. The video of the 4th grade, Canoga Park is about learning by observing, listening, and discussing a subject among the class-mates (4th Grade, Canoga Park, n.d.). In the video teacher is trying to teach the students about the importance of printing press. The teacher asked the students to divide in the groups of two called “pair and share” to discuss the views between two students first and then he asks the students to answer in a bigger group setting to assess whether the students learned the subject or not. The purpose of...
Wolfgang, Ben. "Boys in one class, girls in another at more schools." washingtontimes.com. The Washington Times, 02 Sep 2011. Web. 13 Dec 2013.
TUCKMAN, B. 1965. Developmental Sequences in Small Groups. Psychological Bulletin 63, p 384 – 99. cited in DOEL, M. and SAWDON, C. (2001). The Essential Group Worker: Teaching and Learning Creative Group Work. London: J Kingsley.
Ever since the establishment of the No Child Left Behind Act, schools around the nation have received more and more students. Edison is no different, with a staggering 14,476 students enrolled this past year. Instead of reforming the education system to fit the growing number of students, we place new students in large, existing classes. There does not seem to be a problem if the class has yet to reach its maximum capacity, and people often disregard the importance of class size. However, reducing class sizes can positively impact students' performances academically, emotionally, and socially. It may seem difficult to stray from the orthodox method, but the efforts of reform are extremely fruitful. Even if we pass on other changes, this should be done as soon as possible. We need to realize that for pupils, educators, and the Board of Education, class size matters.
Attending kindergarten means having more structure in a child’s young life, and they are ready for it after going to preschool. They have learned to socialize, follow simple rules, and stay on a task longer and longer. They are now ready for more intense learning; this is an opportune time for a teacher to harness the mind and still keep the fun and adventure of a kindergartener’s mind going.