Teaching and Learning Best Practices

This is the final article on poverty and effective teaching in this series of posts.  In this series, we looked at research on students in poverty and how to improve their chances of success through teacher development. Why?

Because, teachers and schools provide an oasis of stability for children who live in poverty. Schools provide two, and in some places, all hot meals that these children get. Teachers may be the only adults these children have contact with that encourage them to read, learn and think. Yet often it is these impoverished children that wind up in an administrator’s office for some infraction or another (Jensen, 2009, p. 19).  Why? What can schools and teachers do to make learning something that these children strive for and expect from themselves? How can educators avoid losing these children to the streets where they are growing up?

Below is a synopsis of best practices in teaching and learning for students who live in poverty.  Other people have different ideas about where the changes need to happen.  But I believe that changes for these children cannot happen without a free and public education system that supports its teachers and administrators as they strive to help children lift themselves out of poverty.  

Teaching and Learning Best Practices

            Teachers know that the one thing they seem to lack these days is time.  To make the most of their time, this paper puts together best practices in a format that supports professional learning. Sato, et al., (2008) found that there were three areas that supported long term improvement in teacher assessment practices, these are: structured professional development, collegial interactions and participation in reflective self-study (p. 693).  How you change the way teachers assess students’ needs must be part of a structured professional development plan that is focused on how to reach students in poverty. This plan must include ample time for reflection on what works and what is not working for these students. To set up teacher training and best practices around children in poverty this blog will start with brain research, then move to dispositions and teacher learning. 

Brain Research

Students who live in poverty are experiencing a biological impact on their brain.  This impact is due to chronic exposure to stressors. Jensen (2009) states that: “Each stressor builds on and exacerbates other stressors and slowly changes the student. It is the cumulative effect of all the stressors that often makes life miserable for the poor student” (p. 29).  Stress chemically alters the brain, but as Jensen says, “brains are designed to change” (p. 47).  Teachers can help students change the way that stress affects their brains and improve academic performance by understanding how to “reset” academic parts of the brain.  “Students’ social needs compel educators to organize schools into communities of learners where teachers and students can collaborate on authentic decision making and problem solving tasks” (Given, 2002, p. 7). This creates a sense of belonging. Jensen (2009) suggests that schools and teachers need to create an inclusive environment, one where teachers talk about “our school”, avoiding an ‘us and them’ mentality, making sure that students feel appreciated when they use good manners, and effort is praised as well as achievement so children feel celebrated (p. 22). These suggestions help students engage in their classroom environment and see it as an academic family.  For some students, their academic family is all they have. 

In addition to creating a warm environment, teachers need to know how the brain works and what they can do to help children be responsive in an academic environment. Delpit (2012) put together a list of suggested tactics that teachers can use to reduce confusion in the classroom; be transparent when giving assignments, use formative assessments to see what is working in a class and what isn’t, regularly check for understanding, write often, use clear rubrics for grading and make sure students know what to expect regarding grading (p. 141-142). This list along with the expectation for students to achieve at high levels and having a warm, caring classroom environment sets teachers up to be successful with students who live with external stressors that change the brain’s chemistry.  How then does a district share this information with teachers?

Dispositions and Teacher Learning

Before a district can begin to change the way a school community addresses children in poverty, teachers have to be open to learning. Hinde (2004) observed that:  “Suggesting a new way of teaching a concept or lesson to a teacher who has taught for a number of years will give the observer a good indication of the underlying assumptions that the teacher has regarding change. Does the teacher welcome the innovation and is he or she willing to take the risk of trying it, or does the attitude that “this is the way I’ve always done it” prevail?” (p. 6).  When teachers work in impoverished schools, is there a sense of hopelessness that is causal to lack of interest in change? Do teachers have time built into their schedules for professional learning? These are some practical places to start.  Hope and attitude are everything to these students.  They need hope, and help to change their attitudes.  The best place for this to start is with the adults in the building. Consider young Dalton Sherman when you are introducing the new school year to your teachers. Do you believe in them?  

Murrell et al. (2010) stated that: “Teacher educators who attend to the development of knowledge, skills and dispositions can attest to the mutual effect each has on the development of the others” (p. 10). Though experience does add to knowledge, teachers must continue to develop their craft throughout their career and desire better outcomes for students who show a clear achievement gap. Students will seek acceptance elsewhere if it is not felt in school or from their family. Given (2002) points to the rise in gangs and cults in areas of poverty because gang leaders can play a paternal role for children who feel isolated (p. 47).  So there is an urgent need to change the way that educators deal with children who live in poverty. This urgency has grown in the last ten years.  Delpit (2012) shared that: “…African American males are consistently at the bottom of all educational measures in our schools, the quality of life indicators for African American males suggest that they are in deep trouble in all areas” (p.14).  When teachers know that what they do, that they are these students “…lifeline to a better future” (p. 88), they will demand time for learning from their districts.

When teachers have a say in how change is enacted they have a more positive attitude toward learning. Hinde (2004) stated that: “In order for the culture of schools to adjust to allow for change then power must be wielded in such a way as to allow others to gain a sense of ownership with the goals and process of change” (p. 10).  Teachers need to have ownership of their learning. “Development of shared purposes and the means to achieve them cannot be mandated externally” (Murrell et al, 2010, p. 201).   Though administration can give them materials and point them in a direction to reach understanding, it is beneficial for teachers to have time with their colleagues to figure out the best way for information and techniques to be implemented in the classroom.  Penuel, et al. (2007) stated that: “Therefore, professional development that incorporates time for instructional planning, discussion, and consideration of underlying principles of curriculum may be more effective in supporting implementation of innovations.” (p. 931). Learning is essential for growth in the field of education, but the learners whether it is a teacher or the children they are trying to reach, have to have content with contextual meaning.  Teachers must know that what they are doing is making a difference for children, that how they change their practice has an impact on students’ lives.  Learning must have relevance and rigor to be engaging. Empower them. Give them the right tools to make children effective learners.

Implications For Future Research

            Throughout this blog, the literature and how it comes together have created natural questions that have implications for future research in the area of poverty and its effect on student achievement. Does race play a factor in the level of poverty? Is race part of the achievement gap between rich and poor cities or does it have more to do with the number of students on Free and Reduced Lunch? When teachers work in impoverished schools, is there a sense of hopelessness that is causal to lack of interest in change? These questions are not new, indeed similar questions have been drivers for the authors who contributed to the works used for this paper.  Poverty cannot change however until best practices in teaching and learning start to really close the achievement gaps noted in multiple works and visible in our cities.  New Hampshire is a little state, but well known for innovation and for driving change in education practices.  Perhaps one of these questions and the subsequent answer can drive poverty into the past.

Conclusion

Children of poverty need professionals to find ways to challenge them enough to transport them from their current discomfort into a place where they can compete with children who do not share their challenges. Minow, et al. (2008) state: “Central to the American Dream is a set of ideas: that how things are today is not the way they have to be tomorrow, that where you come from does not matter and that anyone willing to work hard and play by the rules can have a fair chance at a successful and happy life” (p. 65). Teachers need to know that there is a physical effect on the brain of children who live with poverty and other chronic stressors, and that there are methods that can be used in their classrooms to mitigate the effect of those stressors. Schools that work to develop a culture supportive of academic excellence in poor, urban and rural areas are places that promote the potential of children and believe that they can excel in spite of adversity. Places like this are an oasis for children from an impoverished background and help them find success; this is how schools can help break the cycle of poverty. 

References

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Boykin, A. W., & Noguera, P. (2011). Creating the opportunity to learn: Moving from research to practice to close the achievement gap. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Delpit, L. (2012). Multiplication is for white people:  Raising expectations for other people's children. New York, NY: the New Press.

Fullan, M. (2001). Leading in a culture of change. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Gere, A. R., Buehler, J., Dallavis, C., & Haviland, V. S. (2009). A visibility project: Learning to see how preservice teachers take up culturally responsive pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 46(3), 816-852.

Given, B. K. (2002). Teaching to the brain's natural learning systems. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Hinde, E. (2004). School culture and change: An examination of the effects of school culture on the process of change. Retrieved November 30, 2013, from http://usca.edu/essays/vol122004/hinde.pdf

Jensen, E. (2009). Teaching with poverty in mind. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

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Magnuson, K. A., Meyers, M. K., Ruhm, C. J., & Waldfogel, J. (2004). Inequality in preschool education and school readiness. American Educational Research Journal, 41(1), 115-157.

Measured Progress. (2013). Assessment and AYP public reporting site. NH Profile Website. Retrieved December 5th, 2013, from http://reporting.measuredprogress.org/NHProfile/default.aspx

Minow, M., Shweder, R. A., & Markus, H. R. (2008). Just schools: Pursuing equality in societies of difference. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

Murrell, P.C., Diez, M.E., Feiman-Nemser, S., & Schusssler, D.L. (2010). Teaching as a moral practice. Cambridge: Harvard Education Press.

New Hampshire Department of Education. (2013, February 13). Free/Reduced school lunch eligibility rates by school. Attendance and Enrollment Reports. Retrieved December 5, 2013, from http://www.education.nh.gov/data/attendance.htm

New Hampshire Department of Education. (2013, February 4). Race/Ethnic enrollments. Attendance and Enrollment Reports. Retrieved December 5, 2013, from http://www.education.nh.gov/data/attendance.htm.

Penuel, W. R., Fishman, B. J., Yamaguchi, R., & Gallagher, L. P. (2007). What makes professional development effective? Strategies that foster curriculum implementation. American Educational Research Journal, 44(4), 921-958.

Prince, D., Pepper, K., & Brocato, K. (2006). The importance of making the well-being of children in poverty a priority. Early Childhood Education Journal, 34(1), 21-28. doi:10.1007/s10643-006-0118-7

Sato, M., Wei, R. C., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2008). Improving teachers' assessment practices through professional development: The case of national board certification. American Educational Research Journal, 45(3), 669-700.