Looking into the Future of Science and Education (SCIE - 6664S - 2)
Equity in Science
Education
I have been
teaching in my district for 18 years, during that time I have become somewhat
educated on my districts diversity issues.
I work in a rural community made up of majorly white students that are
economically disadvantaged. Our students
learning abilities present themselves as our biggest challenge of
diversity. In the last decade the DeSoto
School District’s IEP students have increased in student performance at the
proficient level on the state standardized test. The scores have gone from 4.8 percent to
24.1percent, which is a growth of 33.5 percent in the last ten years. In comparison our students that are living at
or below poverty level also show great improvement. In the last ten years the students enrolled
in the free and reduced lunch program have increased in student performance at
the proficient level on the state standardized test. These test scores went from 18.5 percent to
46.9 percent, which is a growth rate of 54.6 percent (DESE, 2012). Time spent with these students addressing
their needs has been time well spent.
This increase indicates the programs my district has implemented to
assist these students have benefited them.
My district has changed over to the use
of Differentiated Instruction and Standards Based Grading, the benefit of this
change allows me to gear lessons for my students’ interests as well as their
abilities and skills. I will continue to
incorporate lessons that diversify material and use strategies that assess each
individual student for readiness, interest and learning style. Learning is a central goal, unless learning
is at the core of a multicultural perspective classroom activities will do
nothing to create an equitable school environment for students (Nieto &
Bode 2008). Exposing students to a variety of technology helps motivate them and shows them the relevance of what they
are learning to possible future career options. There is no bigger turnoff than
having to memorize facts and formulas that aren't made relevant to solving
realistic problems (Garrett, 2008).
One of the ways I have addressed the incorporation
of technology in my classroom is through our volcano and earthquake project and
web quest. I start out by introducing
the objectives with a web quest; the web quest is a work packet with a series
of questions dealing with earthquakes and volcanoes that have web address links
posted with them. The learning process is diversified allowing students to
choose from a variety of media types to learn the material using the
internet. Some of the answers are found
in videos they must watch, there are interactive maps and diagrams, and of
course informational articles to read. After the initial research is complete
students create a resume and business card or a power point on the earthquake
and volcano of their choice. Students
are given a set of criteria and steps to follow and instructed on what to
include in their project. During this process I act as support while they
develop their projects using our available technology and programs. This
project allows the students to choose how they will present the information
they gathered and learned and how they will apply that knowledge.
Reference
Garrett, N.
(2008, May 30). Who are the next “real” American idols? STEM is key.
Retrieved from http://wraltechwire.com/business/tech_wire/opinion/story/2958999/
Missouri Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education, (2000). MCDC Demographic
Profile. Retrieved
from http://mcdc.missouri.edu/census2000
Nieto,
S., & Bode, P. (2008). Affirming
diversity: The sociopolitical context
of multicultural education (Laureate custom edition). Boston: Pearson.
