SCHOOLS AND MEDIA Chapter 9

Schools ◦ Class Size ◦ Types of School Environments: Montessori and Traditional Approaches ◦ Teacher-Student Relationships ◦ Dropping Out

Class Size and Project STARProject STAR ◦ Grades K-3: Fewer than 20 students has positive effect on achievement ◦ Project STAR: Tennessee State Department of Ed randomized experiment ◦ Kindergarten through 3 grade (4 years); 12,000 students in 300+ classrooms across state ◦ IV = size of class: small (13-17 students); full size (22-26 students); full-size plus teacher’s aide ◦ DV = Spring achievement test scores, subject grades, student engagement ◦ 4 Main Findings ◦ Small classes → higher academic performance in every subject in every grade ◦ Small classes → greater engagement in learning ◦ Benefit of small classes greatest for at-risk students ◦ No differences b/w full-size classes with and without teacher aides ◦ Replicated in other states: Wisconsin, NC, California

Class Size and Project STAR – Follow-up ◦ 4 th grade: all students returned to full-size classes, but continued to collect data ◦ Attending small classes in K-3 associated with greater academic achievement in grades 4-8 in all subject areas ◦ Effect strongest for students who ◦ attended small classes in K and Grade 2 ◦ remained in small classes for 3 or more years ◦ Small class size linked to greater likelihood of taking SATs/ACTS and higher test scores ◦ Especially among at-risk students

Class Size and Project STAR – What works? ◦ Developmental Timing – start intervention early and continue ◦ Program Intensity – high intensity ◦ Teacher-directed learning ◦ Project STAR – high-intensity intervention (full-day Kindergarten) ◦ Head Start and other intervention programs ◦ Begin early – around ages 3 or 4 ◦ Low intensity – last for 1 year, 2 at most; 203 hours per day, 4-5 days per week ◦ Upon leaving – enter half day Kindergarten ◦ Most benefits lost 3 years after students leave program

Montessori Approach ◦ Children learn most effectively when information is developmentally appropriate. ◦ Sensitive periods determine when child is ready to acquire skills and information ◦ Children choose activities because sensitive periods will select tasks for which they are developmentally ready ◦ Students, not teachers, direct learning ◦ Based on Vygotsky’s proximal zone of development

Montessori vs. Traditional Classrooms ◦ Physical classroom environment ◦ Open concept – desks arranged in rafts across 3-year age range ◦ Traditional: desks facing one direction and same-grade students ◦ Instructional method ◦ Montessori: 3-4 hours on self-selected and small-group work; 1-hour on whole-group instruction ◦ Traditional: teacher-directed work that delivers information to students ◦ Classroom atmosphere ◦ Montessori – cooperation – no tests, grades, textbooks, etc. ◦ Traditional - competition

Montessori vs. Traditional Classrooms ◦ Past research suggested Montessori schools resulted in better outcomes ◦ Higher achievement test scores 2 nd thru 8 th grade (Daux, 1995) ◦ Minority Montessori students showed higher standardized test scores than minority traditional students (Dawson, 1987) ◦ Limitations ◦ Lack of comparison groups (compare to national norms) ◦ Lack of significance testing to compare groups ◦ Participants from traditional school not matched to Montessori – lack of statistical control

Montessori vs. Traditional Classrooms ◦ IV: Type of School Environment (all 4 th and 8 th graders) ◦ Montessori school ◦ Structured Magnet : teacher-directed, drill-and-practice, textbooks, exams, structure and discipline ◦ Open magnet : large community spaces, team teaching, small group, multiage groups ◦ Traditional non-magnet : typical public school; basic curriculum, direct instruction, drill-and-practice ◦ DV: Math and language arts scores in 4 th and 8 th grade ◦ Findings ◦ Grade 4 : no differences in LA; on math, Montessori higher than open, but lower than traditional ◦ Grade 8 : no differences in math; Montessori performed lower on LA compared other schools ◦ Montessori students do not have a major advantage compared to other schools ◦ Math advantages in Grade 4, disappear in Grade 8. (Lopata, Wallace, & Finn, 2005)

Montessori vs. Traditional Classrooms ◦ IV: Type of School Environment ( ) ◦ High school students who attended public Montessori school for preschool – 5 th grade ◦ Matched High school students who attended traditional school for preschool – 5 th grade ◦ DV: ◦ Standardized tests by subjects: reading, LA, math/science, social studies ◦ GPA ◦ Findings ◦ Montessori participants higher Math/Science scores ◦ No differences on reading, LA, social studies ◦ GPA: No differences ◦ Attending Montessori schools may have a positive influence on math/science achievement in HS ◦ But, again major findings emphasize lack of significant differences (Dohrmann et al., 2007)

Teacher-Student Relationships ◦ What are some good qualities of a teacher? Bad qualities? ◦ Social and academic outcomes linked to teachers who ◦ Communicate values and goals to students ◦ Structure, guidance, autonomy ◦ Warmth, absence of conflict, open communication ◦ A teacher who models appropriate behavior elicits this behavior from his/her students ◦ 2 dimensions determine 4 teaching styles (think Baumrind’s parental styles!) ◦ Teacher Caring : affective relationship teacher exhibits toward students ◦ Academic Press: high expectations set by the teacher for the students

AuthoritativeAuthoritarian PermissiveUninvolved Teacher Control / Academic Press Warm, responsive Rejecting, unresponsive Teacher caring / Teacher Support undemanding demanding

What type of teaching style? ◦ Teacher #1 Teacher #1 ◦ Teacher #2 Teacher #2 ◦ Teacher #3 Teacher #3 ◦ Teacher #4 Teacher #4 ◦ Teacher #5 Teacher #5

Outcomes of Teaching Styles ◦ Authoritative ◦ Highest levels of academic performance and motivation ◦ Teacher caring results in positive outcomes for students IF the teacher is also demanding ◦ Students less likely to drop out (Croninger & Lee, 2001) ◦ Fewer off-track behaviors – repeating grade, suspensions, expulsions (Crosnoe & Elder, 2004) ◦ Academic self-efficacy, school competence, greater motivation (Ryan & Patrick, 2001; Marchant et al., 2001) ◦ Teacher demandingness associated with ◦ Higher attendance and academic performance (Phillips, 1997) ◦ Self-regulation and self-efficacy (Middleton & Midgley, 2002) ◦ Permissive ◦ Lowest levels of academic performance ◦ Teacher caring can lead to negative outcomes for students IF teacher has few demands ◦ Authoritarian ◦ Lowest levels of student motivation

Dropping Out Dropping Out of High School ◦ 2000: 12% of year-olds dropped out of high school ◦ 2013: 7% of year-olds dropped out of high school ◦ Why? ◦ Minority drop-out rates have reached a record low ◦ More minority youth are attending college ◦ Outcomes of Dropping Out ◦ In US, HS drop-outs commit 75% of crimes ◦ In US, HS drop-outs have high unemployment rates ◦ Lower income – HS drop-outs earn $200,000 less than HS graduate and $1 million less than college grads over their lifetime

Why do students drop-out? ◦ Dislike of school, school is boring, school is unrelated to their needs ◦ Low academic achievement, poor grades, academic failure ◦ Need for money, desire to work full-time

Some Causes of Dropping Out ◦ School Environment ◦ Less-qualified teachers, large school settings, less individualized attention ◦ Student Characteristics ◦ Absenteeism, poor grades, poor achievement test scores, repeating a grade ◦ Minority students, disabled students ◦ Peer Status: Neglected and popular-aggressive more likely to drop out ◦ Friends who drop out ◦ Externalizing problems ◦ Biological Sex - males ◦ Home and SES environment ◦ Families with incomes in the lowest 20% of the population ◦ Single-parent families, large families, early parenthood for the student, insensitive parents ◦ Urban environments

3 Main Causes of School Drop-outs ◦ History of Poor Academic Performance ◦ Starting in early elementary school ◦ Educational Engagement ◦ Fewer hours on homework, watching more TV, working more hours, attending classes without textbooks ◦ Academic Delay ◦ Children who are older than the normal range for their current grade ◦ Children who have received fewer than required number of academic credits for grade (National Research Council, 2001)

Poor Academic Performance ◦ High school Drop-outs (vs. those remaining in school) ◦ 3 rd Grade: lower achievement test scores ◦ Grades 7 -12: failed greater number of courses ◦ In 1 st Grade, receiving As and Bs (vs. Cs and Ds)… ◦ For males, 2 times more likely to graduate HS ◦ For females, 1.5 times more likely to graduate HS. Grade 1: avg of math scores, reading scores, teacher ratings Grade 6 academic performance Dropping out in high school (-.24) (-.30) (Barrington & Hendricks, 1989; Garnier et al., 1997; Ensminger & Slusarcick, 1992))

Class Size and Dropping Out ◦ 5,000 Project Star participants ◦ Is participation in small classes in the early grades (K–3) related to high school graduation? ◦ Attending small classes for 4 years (K-3) associated with higher HS graduate rates (vs. full-size classes) ◦ Attending small classes for 3 years same graduation rates as full-size classes ◦ **For at-risk students: increased odds of graduating by 67% ◦ Is academic achievement in K–3 related to high school graduation? ◦ Reading and math achievement scores in K-3 positively associated with graduating from HS ◦ Small class size increases likelihood of graduating HS, beyond the effect of early academic performance. (Finn, Gerber, & Boyd-Zaharias, 2005)

Interventions for Dropping Out ◦ EARLY INTERVENTIONS ARE IMPORTANT - Dropping out is a process that begins early in elementary, in which students gradually disengage from school setting ◦ Not an isolated event that occurs in high school ◦ 3 Successful Interventions ◦ Individual-level counseling to change students’ thoughts about education ◦ Creating smaller school settings within a larger school ◦ Authoritative teachers who increase student engagement ◦ So why don’t we implement these changes??? ◦ These changes require more staff and more $$$$$$

Summary ◦ The type of school environment (Montessori, magnet, traditional) does not matter ◦ Small class size and authoritative teaching styles do matter!! ◦ Small class size (20 or less) in early elementary school for 4 or more years is BEST! ◦ Lack of these two components in elementary school puts students at risk for dropping out