Introduction
For changing this situation, and for allowing more students the opportunity to break out of the routinized working environment that would otherwise expect them after graduation, Darling – Hammond is suggesting the application of an educational model based on five practices, meant to challenge the educational focus of nowadays elementary and secondary schools:
“1. Small size for the school or learning communities within the school
2. Structures that allow for personalization and strong relationships
3. Intellectually challenging and relevant instruction;
4. Performance – based assessment
5. Highly competent teachers who collaborate in planning and problem - solving” (Darling - Hammond, 2010, p. 244).
Practices Defined
As Darling – Hammond (2010) notes, students tend to feel safer in a small size school, as they get to know each other by their names. Establishing closer relationship, removes the boundaries between students, while such an environment impedes the proliferation of solitary personalities, who can outburst in violent actions, as it happened in 1999 in Columbine high school, where two students of that school shot at their own colleagues. The small school units emphasizes the student’s need for safety and for feeling of belonging, as this contributes to their involvement in the school activities, engaging with their peers and discourages the drop outs, as the students frequent the school, as a place where they feel comfortable going. Darling – Hammond (2010) also finds that a small unit setting is most efficient for students that come from low – income or minority families.
The next practice treated by Darling – Hammond (2010) is the necessity of implementing structures that permit the personalization and lead towards enhancing strong relationships. This practice encourages the involvement of parents in the students’ academic results, and it implies the commitment of school’s advisories, working alongside with teachers for elaborating a systematic counseling and academic support, tailored on the students’ needs and interests. This practice is destined especially to disadvantaged families, aiming to push the students above their quotidian problems, making sure that their living environment (bad neighborhoods entrenched in street violent or drug and alcohol abuse) does not interfere with their academic results. This method implies weekly reunions with small groups (around 13 students), for evaluating their performances and prepare immediate support where a student seems to fall behind his/her education. All students receive equal attention in such a setting, or, as a student expressed it “This school [Manhattan Village Academy] will get the worst student to do the work” (Darling - Hammond, 2010, p. 249).
The intellectually challenging and relevant instruction task refers to providing students, from various social or cultural environments (especially to those dealing with race, poverty, language disadvantages or low academic skills) and not only, with relevant knowledge and setting high expectations, while supporting the students in their preparations, combined with a practical preparatory learning useful for the real – world settings, by involving the students in “projects, community service and internships” (Darling - Hammond, 2010, p. 250). This method takes various approaches on education: (1) challenging and engaging curriculum (diversifying the students’ reading materials, developing their critical thinking and research skills, preparing them for college life, by effectively instilling them how to use time management for studying more qualitatively); (2) using explicit teaching of academic skills (using scaffolding for achieving more complex skills and structuring the reading and listening for a comprehensive understanding); (3) assuring flexible support (offering in – class and beyond – class support for helping students to improve their academic skills); (4) creating multiple strategies for active learning (guiding students through various activity tasks for achieving knowledge); (5) providing real – world connections (incorporating real – life applications in students’ curricula); (6) facilitating community service and internships (where the external learning experiences help students understand the real world and the world of work) (Darling - Hammond, 2010).
The performance – based assessment practice stresses the significance of involving the industry members in the students’ tasks. While teachers guide and teach them what they need to study and how they will use the knowledge in the real life, students need to present portfolios that assess their learning. Lund and Fortman Kirk (2010) perceive the performance – based assessment as “open – ended, complex and authentic”, allowing an in – depth learning, enhancing students’ performances, while facilitating teachers to find new ways to address student achievement (p. 23). Darling Hammond (2010) stresses the importance of this process, by exemplifying that by applying it, the students with special education needs obtained similar results with the regular students, emphasizing like this the practical and efficient role of this method for pushing the students’ limits.
The final method that Darling – Hammond (2010) propose is the competent and collaborative teachers, stressing that for small, regrouped schools, having dedicated and highly competent educators is a requirement for these schools’ success, but it becomes complete when the teachers are working together, in professional networks, in formal or informal settings. Common planning and consultation among educators within the school setting, summer schools or retreats, contribute to learning from each other, sharing best practices and establishing together educational strategies for preparing the students to acquire new information (Darling - Hammond, 2010). This collaborative method is highly efficient because none of the teachers has all the answers and they can learn from the other educators they discuss with, and together they can design an accurate and authentic learning structure, effective and appreciated by students (Stanley, 2009).
Prioritized Practices
The need for highly trained and competent teachers that approach a collaborative practice is the second most significant priority. Once the school is restructured into smaller units, there would be required for competitive professional who will be able to assure the best practices for stimulating the students into achieving higher educational results. This aspect is essential for the quality of the studies and for providing students with a model of study verified and certified by other competent teachers. Having the security feeling and the sense of belonging to a school where they feel comfortable with their peers and with their teachers and well trained educators that apply the academic practices suited to the students’ profiles, students benefit of two strong support elements meant to trigger their improved academic performances. At the end of the day, teachers share not only academic practices, but also sociological competences and people skills, which are useful abilities for developing closer relationship with students (McInerney, Dowsdon & Van Etten, 2006).
With this observation, the next priority for an efficient implementation of the practices proposed by Darling – Hammond (2010) is the proliferation of the structures that allow for higher interaction, personalization and strong relationships. As Darling – Hammond (2010) explains, this method is mostly recommended in the case of the students that come from disadvantaged families; however, its applicability reaches all groups of students, as all need to relate with their peers and their teachers, for developing their own ability to trust and develop relations with other people, contributing to their socio – cognitive development. The involvement of adults, of school advisors in students’ personal life has positive effects on the students’ self – esteem, as they can be engaged by the fact that somebody is interested in them and as a way to respond to this attention, they would want to act in accordance, learning and achieving knowledge. Helping students to come back on the right track when they have fallen indicates constant care and support, which on a long term contributes to the students’ becoming independents and prepared for the real – life challenges.
The intellectually challenging and relevant instruction is the next priority, which is meant to stimulate and engage the students to reaching their best. Setting high priorities is essential for reaching higher performances in schools, and this is a strategy for preparing the students to permanently seek to overcome their abilities, by learning more and improving their competences, for dealing with the challenges that they will face as adults. As Lund and Fortman Kirk (2010) observe, if the work is too easy the students get bored and on the contrary, if it is too difficult they might tend to give up. Therefore, this task must be managed with care, determining the students to find their inner capabilities, for solving complex problems, and gradually increasing their intellectual challenges, while providing them with relevant instruction for managing the imposed challenges.
Next on the list, meant to harmonize and complete the learning system is the performance based assessment practice. This is the last method to be applied, because it needs all the others practices to be implemented before applying the strategies of the performance based assessment. Competent and collaborative teachers need to foster relationship with students in small sized units, while they challenge the students’ intellectual abilities providing relevant teaching, so that in the end the students can develop their portfolios, allowing for the teachers to assess their performances.
Implementation
The first step required for applying this educational model, composed of the five elements as prioritized above is to get the public opinion on board of this action. Convincing communities of the importance of this project and on the positive effects that small sized educational units would have on the students’ educational performance would determine the school directors to restructure the educational setting, supported by the local authorities (City Hall) to redesign the larger schools into smaller units. Next, the highly competent teachers are required and they need to be recruited. However, for the long term sustainability, there should be devoted higher interest for forming highly competent teachers. An agent of change should determine his/her fellow colleagues to work together, proposing them to meet once a week to revise the educational techniques, to collaborate for finding the best suited methods for educating students. This involvement from teachers’ side should go further, by forming small groups of 10 – 15 students for one teacher and meeting on a weekly basis for evaluating their progress and addressing their draw – backs, searching for family engagement also, as ways to develop personalized strong relationships in schools. Progressively, teachers should increase the students’ intellectual abilities, providing relevant course materials and involving them in community based projects. Theoretical and practical knowledge taught in school and outside school should be comprised in projects or portfolios, within performance based assessments. This implementation requires for the support of the teachers, students’, families, communities and local authorities, which need to believe in the success of this educational plan and consider it an ongoing project.
Conclusion
The current educational model that promotes few elitist students that will acquire professional status while the majority of students will tend to become engaged in routinized and standardized jobs needs to be changed, in order to create equal opportunities so that all students to reache better academic results and to have the chance to choose for themselves the career they want to pursue as they graduate. By applying these five practices model proposed by Darling – Hammond (2010) and elaborated in this essay, students will overcome their disadvantages (race, poverty, low educational skills, disabilities), feeling safe in a small unit school, interacting better with colleagues and with teachers, developing their skills by continuously challenging their intellect under the supervision of highly trained collaborative teachers, knowing in the end how the learning will serve them in life.
References
Darling-Hammond, L. (2010). The flat world and education: How America’s commitment to
equity will determine our future. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
McInerney, D., M. Dowson, M. & Van Etten, S. (2006) Effective schools (PB). Greenwich: Information Age Publishing.
Stanley, A., M. (2009) The experience of elementary music teachers in a collaborative teacher study group. Michigan: The University of Michigan.
Lund, J., L. & Fortman Kirk, M. (2010) Performance – based assessment for middle and high school physical education. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
